The deadline for Governor Hochul to release the state’s mid-year budget report was Sunday, Oct. 30. We are still waiting for it. The mandated public report that outlines the state’s current financial health has taken a back seat to the governor’s ongoing campaign tour. The mid-year budget update isn’t merely important, it’s required by law.

With a possible recession looming, New York will likely face serious budget challenges this year. The billions of dollars in assistance, sent from the federal government, will not be pouring into the state like it did in 2022. New York’s bloated, record-breaking $220 billion budget is already problematic enough to taxpayers, so ensuring every dollar is being used efficiently and effectively is absolutely critical.

A year ago, Governor Hochul and Assembly and Senate Majority Leaders had the luxury of crafting a budget when state revenues exceeded projections, cash infusions from Washington were overly generous and very few cuts needed to be made.

But those days are over.

Last year’s budget surplus – which set off a reckless spending frenzy – already feels like a distant memory. According to the state Division of Budget, the long-term projections for New York identify a $13.7 billion budget gap over the next five years. Those figures were reported in July, in the first-quarter budget report. It comes as no surprise that tax-and-spend behavior will have New York running in the red once again.

New York’s budget process is completely broken and notoriously secretive – and we’re off to another bad start. Governor Hochul made countless promises of transparency and has broken every one. Holding back the mid-year budget report is just the latest example. 

For more than a year, New Yorkers have faced tremendous financial uncertainty as they’ve tried to manage inflation, gas prices and utility costs. Every taxpayer in New York deserves to know how their money is being spent, no matter how inconvenient that might be to the governor’s personal plans. This delay is gross negligence and illegal. The governor of the state has a fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers that she is ignoring. It’s time she finally meets that responsibility.

If you have any questions or comments on this or any other state issue, or if you would like to be added to my mailing list or receive my newsletter, please contact my office. My office can be reached by mail at 19 Canalview Mall, Fulton, NY 13069 and by email at barclayw@nyassembly.gov.