No excuse for state park closures

Editorials

May 26, 2010

Anonymous The Tonawanda News The Tonawanda News Wed May 26, 2010, 12:07 AM EDT

— — Even in a year where money is this hard to find in New York, there should be no excuse for the closure of 178 state parks.

Because of the lack of a budget, now almost two months past due, and a staggering deficit that lawmakers and the governor have still not been able to close, New Yorkers everywhere will not be able to enjoy access to some of the Empire State’s most scenic places this Memorial Day weekend.

To give you an idea of how little we’re saving by closing the parks, consider the actual numbers. The state needs $6 million — that’s million, with an M — to operate these parks for a year. The state will spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $130 billion — that’s billion, with a B — in its overall budget.

The parks money is the legislative equivalent to change in the couch cushions.

So where’s the hang up, you might wonder?

Gov. David Paterson has asked lawmakers — rightly, we believe — to find that $6 million in new cuts. Lawmakers want to include it as part of the spending cut package they’ve already put forth.

Given it’s minuscule cost as compared to the state’s overall fiscal deficit, one might also wonder whether lawmakers and Paterson are arguing over how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.

We disagree. The state Legislature, the appropriating branch of government, should be held responsible for finding a way to pay for the parks to remain open without affecting the fiscal health of the state, even one iota.

So with that, we have a modest proposal: Lawmakers are paid a per diem amount for each day they spend in Albany, in addition to their regular salary. All that money is withheld when the budget is late. That would sound uncommonly fair by Albany standards, considering lawmakers would be getting paid while not fully doing their jobs. Except for the fact that every legislator stands to receive a complete reimbursement for their missed salary and per diems once the budget is actually passed.

The base pay for lawmakers, before add-ons such as committee and leadership posts, is about $1,500 per week, plus the per diem payment to cover travel and lodging expenses in the capital.

Tack on the per diem, and we’ll call that $2,000 per lawmaker, per week that the state will pay out for every week the budget is late. Multiply that by 150 assemblymen and 62 state senators and eight weeks the budget is already late. The cocktail napkin math means that, if the budget were passed today, taxpayers are on the hook for about $3.3 million in back pay to legislators.

Here’s an idea: How about lawmakers give up their back pay? That’ll cut in half the amount needed to cut to keep the parks open.

Of course we doubt legislators would consider a few million bucks chump change if it’s going into their personal bank accounts.

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