ALBANY – State Comptroller Alan Hevesi warned yesterday that Gov. Pataki’s newly proposed state budget may already be $600 million out of balance.
Hevesi said state pension costs for the fiscal year beginning April 1 could skyrocket to more than $1 billion, even though Pataki included just $380 million for that purpose in his $90.8 billion budget plan.
The new pension-cost estimate was based on the deterioration of the value of the state’s pension fund, which fell to $97 billion – as of Jan. 31 – from a record-high of $127 billion two years ago – due to the national economic recession and the stock markets’ sharp decline.
Hevesi, the former New York City comptroller, said the state’s final pension bill will be set on March 31, based on the value of the pension fund at that time.
“The markets’ continuing decline just adds to the already-daunting fiscal challenges facing the state,” said Hevesi.