#Cuomo’s options for avoiding spending cuts this year worse than COVID-19

Forces looking to avoid the major budget cuts that state government needs to make will tell you that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has saved enough to avoid the need for big cutbacks. But that relies on some truly creative accounting.

The pandemic and lockdowns have done massive economic damage, crashing New York’s gross domestic product by 36.5 percent in the second quarter of the year — far worse than the national hit. And that’s put a similar dent in state tax revenues.

Worse, full recovery is likely to take years — even if there’s a vaccine.

Which translates to a need for major cuts in this year’s $177 billion spending plan, and in future budgets, too. This year’s gap is at least $10 billion; next year’s, $16 billion.

Cuomo is using some one-shots and emergency borrowing to keep going: That includes $3 billion from legal settlements and a $4.5 billion emergency loan that the state could delay repaying ’til next year or even turn into long-term bonds — “solutions” that only burden future budgets.

New York is also getting some slack as the Trump administration lets it get creative in how it spends $5 billion in pandemic relief, for example to pay correction officers.

And the gov has withheld billions in payments to local governments and school districts — cuts he says may be permanent if Washington doesn’t bail him out. That could add $3 billion to New York City’s budget hole.

To his credit, Cuomo has also reduced state government costs, leaving thousands of jobs unfilled and deferring (but not canceling) scheduled pay hikes.

What he hasn’t done is offer his official plan for balancing this year’s budget — which would give the Legislature 10 days to offer some alternative.

And Cuomo’s keep-his-options-open approach has real costs. Not least, when the cuts finally become official and permanent, the pain and shock will be worse. And the lack of credible long-range plans is why Moody’s downgraded both the state and city’s bond rating last week.

The longer the governor pins his hopes on magical federal bailout, all the hard choices will grow harder still.