Paterson Puts Limit On Hiring, Urges Others to Cut, Too

By ARI PAUL

Governor Paterson April 24 asked other leading staff officials to cut their operating costs by 3.35 percent as trouble already loomed for the budget adopted just three weeks earlier, and signaled that state hiring will be curtailed.

GOVERNOR PATERSON: Budget needs tightening.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, Assembly Sheldon Silver, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and other officials, the Governor told them to follow his own example as state agencies prepare to retool their operations to cut their spending by the same percentage.

Cutting $800M

"Given the current economic difficulties facing the state, one of my first acts as Governor was to propose $800 million in across-the-board reductions in all agencies' budgets," he said in his letter. "I am writing to respectfully request that you join with all other agencies and reduce your operating budget by the same 3.35-percent reduction assigned to executive agencies."

In an April 21 letter, the Governor ordered his agency heads to submit a spending plan by May 16 that would outline how they plan to trim their budgets.

"The reductions you propose must be achievable, recurring and serious," he said. "Your plan must reflect the creativity needed to provide the services the public expects at a lower cost. Above all, you must rethink your hiring practices. Only job openings absolutely essential to your agency's operations and protecting the health and safety of New Yorkers are to be filled. Positions that do not fit this criterion must be left vacant."