Governor Andrew Cuomo says the outpouring of state funds to deal with the COVID-19 disease is going to seriously affect the amount of money local governments and school districts can expect from Albany this spring.
That’s particularly grim news for the Rochester City School District, which was hoping for a substantial boost in state funding to close its $30 million budget gap.
Cuomo said New York is in a double whammy; forced to pay out to deal with the crisis at the same time the coronavirus economic shutdown is costing the state critical tax revenues. Cuomo estimated the losses at $10 to $15 billion. By contract, the $2 trillion federal stimulus bill sends $5 billion in revenues to New York, which can only be spent on coronavirus needs.
Governor Cuomo says he’s shocked that the stimulus bill fails to address state and local government needs. He called it “irresponsible” and said he has so informed the state’s Congressional delegation.
The governor says with a state budget still due on April 1st, the state will adjust its revenue projections sharply downward, then adjust it during the year to reflect the state’s actual income. He said schools and local governments can expect to get less…and for those aid payments to be adjusted through the year either up or down as needed. He has local governments and schools need to prepare for this.
Cuomo says there’s now enough protective gear to go around to the state’s hospitals and they’re trying to make sure it gets where it’s needed.
There are now more than 37,000 cases statewide, 6,400 new cases since yesterday. There are 5,000 people hospitalized, and the only good news in the governor’s daily briefing was that more than 1,500 people have recovered and been discharged from the hospital.