The budget is a month late and the governor has sent out extender bills every week to cover the government’s basic financial needs. Now, for the second week in a row, Governor David Paterson is again threatening to impose a once-a-week furlough to any non-essential government services to help the cause. It’s an idea that could save the government $30 million a week.

“During the period that a new budget is still dormant, we certainly feel that a government can take these actions,” said Governor Paterson.

They include a once a week furlough to all non-essential state agencies. If Governor Paterson includes the plan in his next budget extender bill, lawmakers will be forced to approve it. If they don’t, the government would shut down completely.

“Government shutdown means no one get paid, the government is not operation. We’d try to keep essential services going, but we don’t have the means to pay for them. It is a terrible circumstance that we saw happen to our federal government in 1995,” Paterson said.

Potential exemptions would include health and safety divisions or those that provide direct care, like state police, so as not to compromise service. But Paterson is hoping it doesn’t get to that. He says the furloughs are just a way to make sure the state stays financially sound, until a permanent budget is in place.

Budget Division spokesman Matt Anderson says they’d try to institute the furlough with flexibility, mainly by staggering it across the workplace workforce. For example, the DMV would still be open five days a week, but customers might have longer wait times.

Meanwhile, conservative budget analysts are proposing a different solution. The Empire Center for NYS Policy has long called for a wage freeze for all state employees. Monday, they released a legal opinion arguing Governor Paterson has the power to do just that.

“Payroll is about 70 percent of the budget, so if you’re not increasing that part of your budget, then that’s the biggest impact you can have on controlling your costs,” said Terry O’Neill of Bong Schoeneck and King.

The Empire Center says the wage freeze would save the state roughly half a billion dollars.

Paterson has already delayed a four percent wage increase that was due to state workers on April 1. And state employee unions have already begun the process of suing the state for that money to be released.

Read article here