Albany reform on the way?

Seeking to restore New Yorkers' faith in their state government, Gov. David Paterson pledged to curb spending and curtail the influence of special interest groups and introduced a series of financial and ethical reforms in his State of the State address on Jan. 6.

"No longer are we going to run New York like a payday loan operation," Paterson said. "We need fiscal reform. We need ethics reform. And we need an economic plan that will put New Yorkers back to work."

But some Long Island legislators remained skeptical that the governor would stay true to his word to hold the line on spending and tax increases. "Governor Paterson talked a lot about fiscal restraint, but we've heard the speech before," said Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), whose district encompasses Baldwin.

Skelos added that after promising not to raise taxes last year, Paterson signed off on a budget that included $11 billion in new taxes, which translates to roughly $2,400 per household. "We certainly hope this time he really means it," Skelos said.

He claimed that in order to bring about real fiscal reform, Albany must cap spending and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in state agencies funded by taxpayers. Skelos also vowed to oppose any state action that burdens schools and local governments with additional costs and to fight to restore the School Tax Relief, or STAR, rebate program. He called for a supermajority vote in both the Senate and Assembly when a tax increase is proposed. All these measures, he said, are essential to providing real property tax relief to state homeowners. "New Yorkers just can't afford a tax-and-spend approach anymore," Skelos said.

Assemblyman Bob Barra, a Republican from Lynbrook whose district encompasses Baldwin, reiterated Skelos's comments, claiming that actions by the governor would resonate louder than his words. "[Paterson] talks about spending caps, eliminating mandates, ethics reform, merging agencies and term limits ... he didn't even get applause from members of his own party," Barra said. "He has very little support from his party, and that makes his good initiatives dead on arrival."