By Mark Scott
Albany, NY – Governor Pataki's state budget proposal for 2005-2006 tops $105 billion, an increase of 2.4 percent or $2.5 billion from the current year.
The spending plan unveiled by the governor Tuesday morning would assume some Medicaid costs that are now borne by the state's 57 counties. Pataki said local governments would save $578 million in the coming year. He also said his budget would reform Medicaid to bring down costs.
"Real Medicaid reform is about more than cost containment," Pataki said. "It's about restructuring the delivery of health care to make it smarter, more affordable, more efficent and of higher quality."
Still, many of the Medicaid cuts Pataki proposed in the past have been rejected by the Legislature under pressure from health care providers.
Pataki's budget also includes more aid for the state's struggling cities, including Buffalo. He announced a new program called AIM, Aid and Incentives for Municipalities.
"AIM would provide a record increase of $38.5 million to the city of Buffalo," Pataki said.
Pataki's budget includes a $526 million increase in school aid, bring the total amount for the fiscal 2005-2006 to $15.9 billion. He's also calling for a $500 tuition increase for in-state students attending the State University of New York.
Pataki's budget does not raise state taxes. But it does recommend $1 billion in new revenues, including higher fees for motor vehicle registrations and titles and all-terrain vehicle registrations.