A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon we’re talking real money

January

The earliest word out this morning on the Gov. Spitzer’s first spending plan for the state should leave those concerned about the environment breathing a little easier.

Despite capping spending on such things as Medicaid funding and taking other steps to keep costs down, Spitzer added 109 jobs to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, bolstering what is effectively the police force for New York’s clean air, water and other environmental concerns.

Under Gov. Pataki, depending on who was doing the counting, the DEC lost between 700 and 1,000 people through attrition, and those positions stayed empty to save money. That may be sound budget management to some, but in order to stay on top of water and air polluters alone, the state needs enough sets of eyes and ears to do the job. Many people felt the cuts were too deep.
Environmentalists credit Pataki for his open space conservation efforts, but the shrinking DEC was a bone of contention even for his strongest supporters in the green world.

Spitzer’s budget – out today – looks like he’s delivering on his promise to shore up the state’s watchdog role. Stay tuned to lohud.com and the Journal News for more on the overall budget and what it means for environment as well as other areas of concern.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 at 12:21 pm by Greg Clary.
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