Published: April 23, 2008 11:10 pm            

OUR VIEW: Fiscal sanity in New York

Stop the presses. It looks like somebody in Albany actually gets it.

And that someone is the new governor of New York, David Paterson.

On Monday, Paterson issued a directive to all state agencies freezing all but essential hiring for state government. He said that if his cost savings targets aren’t met, he will impose a hard hiring freeze and other measures on agencies. He says he is willing to withhold budgeted funds if an agency fails to meet his cost-saving targets.

Paterson said the measures are necessary because of declining revenues projected in a worsening economy.

What is even more astounding than the fact that the governor has figured it out is that it’s this particular governor. When Paterson assumed the rank after a lightning-fast prostitution scandal swallowed up the previous occupant of that office, there were concerns that he would be just another tax-and-spend Democrat. Critics pointed to the former state Senate minority leader’s record in the Legislature as evidence.

But Paterson is taking a conservative budget course that even few Republicans have traveled. He has set a goal of cutting the budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year by 5 to 10 percent before it’s sent to the Legislature. Monday’s memo is the first order in that effort.

The fact that Paterson inherited the agencies’ heads from the Spitzer administration seems to be an advantage in this case. He has no direct allegiance to them and appears to be willing to play hardball when it comes to budget matters.

“There are several corrective actions that I am prepared to take,” Paterson told department heads. “These include withholding an amount of budgeted funding needed to hit your savings target or implementing a hard hiring freeze at your agency. I sincerely hope and expect such measures will not be necessary.”

In Albany-speak, that amounts to a slap in the face with a simultaneous bucket of cold water poured over the head.

It’s about time.

The state work force stands at 167,172 employees. As you might expect, public employee union leaders, who were blindsided by the governor’s move, were not happy.

“When you don’t give us some forewarning on this, it certainly undermines the confidence and trust in labor relations,” Civil Service Employees Association union spokesman Stephen Madarasz said.

Too bad.

If these are tough times, as the governor and others have repeatedly stated, tough measures are called for. It’s gratifying to us, as state taxpayers, that David Paterson gets the connection.

        

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