Gov. David Paterson and Democratic legislative leaders have reached a deal to reduce the state’s budget for the current fiscal year. This $1.6B deal closed the deficit for the current fiscal year.
With this year’s budget finished, the Governor and state legislators will start on the 2009-2010 budget that begins with a roughly $13 billion difference between spending and projected revenue.
The proposal to cap the amount the state pays in real estate taxes on forest preserve land was not not being considered for this years budget but has been proposed by the Governor for next year’s budget.
“We will pretty much be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this budget deficit,” Gov. Paterson said in a Tuesday afternoon news conference.