Apr 04, 2013 — Governor Andrew Cuomo says his relationship with Syracuse's mayor is just fine. But two haven't talked in several months.

Last year Cuomo picked Mayor Stephanie Miner to co-chair the state's Democratic Party. But asked Tuesday about Miner's increasingly vocal criticism of his plan for aid to upstate cities and pension reform, Cuomo didn't treat her like much of a friend. He told reporters, "I haven't seen this particular mayor's comments."  Go to full article

Apr 02, 2013 — Many school districts in the North Country face cutting staff and programming in order to trim their budgets and stay under the state's property tax cap. Some are showing signs of serious financial stress.

Just last month, Tupper Lake School District leaders said the district could become insolvent and may have to close its doors in a few years unless it gets more state aid.

Neighboring Saranac Lake Central is struggling to find a way to preserve its core programs while closing a more than $1 million budget gap.

The district recently hired a new superintendent, Diane Fox, who said working within its budget constraints will be her biggest challenge.  Go to full article

Apr 01, 2013 — The state Olympic Regional Development Authority is fighting deep financial woes even as its venues rebound. That's according to a financial report released this week by the state Comptroller's Office.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced Wednesday that he will launch a full financial audit of ORDA after his office discovered operational losses and a reliance on private lenders to meet expenses.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Apr 01, 2013 — The state Budget was finished three days early, but lawmakers still found things to squabble about, including the timing of the voting sessions during a week where the holidays of two major religions converge.  Go to full article

Mar 29, 2013 — The state legislature has passed a $141.3 billion state budget. Final passage occurred one week past lawmakers' s self imposed deadline, but three days before the spending plan was due to be finished.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Mar 28, 2013 — The New York State Senate finished up voting on the state budget in a middle-of-the-night session that ended at 4:30 yesterday morning. It's part of a long-standing Albany tradition of closed door negotiations and midnight voting on budgets and other issues.  Go to full article

Mar 27, 2013 — The new state budget that lawmakers are enacting this week contains a tax package that includes both tax breaks and tax increases.

The spending plan comes just two months after Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there would not be any new taxes in the budget.  Go to full article

Mar 27, 2013 — State budget numbers released late Tuesday show the General Brown Central School District in the Jefferson County town of Dexter will get a seven percent hike in state aid this year.  Go to full article

Mar 27, 2013 — Another overnight session in Albany as the New York State Senate pushed to finish up work on the state budget.

The governor and legislative leaders decided to abide by the normal procedures and let the budget bills "age" for three days before voting. That gives anyone who is interested time to read them.  Go to full article

Mar 26, 2013 — State leaders are on track to finish the budget on time, even before the March 31 deadline.

Lawmakers finally agreed to and printed all of the remaining pieces of legislation late Sunday, four days after they had announced that they'd reached a deal.

They plan their final votes later in the week.  Go to full article