#Watchdogs want Cuomo to get real over COVID budget crisis

ALBANY — Government watchdogs are pressuring Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop wishing on rainbows and present a plan to fix New York’s $14.5 billion projected budget hole assuming no relief will come from Washington.

Cuomo has argued for months that Congress needs to approve upwards of $14 billion to stave off massive, permanent spending reductions to areas like healthcare, education and local governments — a threat that will increase to roughly $30 billion within two years.

He’s also holding out hope that a Joe Biden presidency would be favorable to a blue state.

But the state’s top good government groups — the Citizens Budget Commission, League of Women’s Voters of New York State, New York Public Interest Research Group, Reinvent New York and Common Cause New York — fired off a letter to Cuomo Wednesday arguing a plan B is long overdue and a continued delay will only worsen the problem.

“The state budget that you and the legislature passed recognized the enormity of COVID-19 related revenue shortfalls, and created a framework for [the state Division of Budget] to reduce spending if there were revenue shortfalls or higher than budgeted spending at three points in the year,” the groups wrote.

“This framework recognizes the need for flexibility while respecting the legislature’s constitutional role in State budgeting and providing an expectation that localities and state vendors would know what spending the State would cut if necessary.”

State lawmakers and Cuomo signed off on a $177 billion fiscal package in April — the start of the Empire State’s fiscal year — with the understanding that adjustments will likely need to be made given the predicted economic shutdown and massive job loss brought on by COVID-19.

Any adjustment presented by the Division of Budget must be OK’d by the state Legislature.

While no cuts have yet been made permanent by the DOB, an updated plan spending plan released in August projected at least $4 billion in reduced state spending could be on the horizon.

This translates to a hiring freeze in the state workforce, including new contracts and anticipated pay raises, as well as withholdings of funds to local governments and nonprofits.

But the state defended their cautiousness, arguing the need for “clarity from Washington” before any big decision is made.

“The State’s pandemic-driven revenue loss is $30 billion over the next two years, and we have already lowered State spending by 4 percent, or $4 billion, by freezing hiring, new contracts and pay raises, and temporarily holding back $2.5 billion in payments,” Budget spokesman Freeman Klopott told The Post in a statement.

“The depth of permanent spending reductions, in the absence of Federal funding, will be severe for schools, hospitals, police and fire departments, along with other services that support our most vulnerable New Yorkers, and it makes no sense to make those reductions permanent until there is clarity from Washington. In the meantime, we will continue to manage the State’s finances using the tools enacted by the State legislature in a way that maintains a balanced budget while funding critical services.”

Meanwhile, legislative leaders and left-leaning lawmakers are pushing Cuomo to follow New Jersey’s lead and authorize a tax hike on the Empire State’s top earners.

The governor has indicated the move is a possibility in the past, but last week state budget director Robert Mujica threw cold water on the notion, arguing top earners are already pressured by New York’s high taxes.