Mayor Phil Amicone delivers his fifth State of the City speech tomorrow night,  an address to be televised live from City Hall. The speech comes two weeks after Amicone proposed a budget calling for an 8.5 percent real estate property tax and warned  that the following year’s budget could contain significant layoffs. There’s been more bad fiscal news: Police overtime this year will exceed the city’s budget amount by $10 million.
But the mayor is likely to point to progress on the city’s redevelopment front: the public hearing held Tuesday night on the $1.6 billion Struever Fidelco Cappelli plan to remake major portions of downtown. The speech is set for 7 p.m. from the City Council Chamber and will be carried on the city’s government access channel 78 and News 12.

In a statement, Westchester Board of Legislators Chairman Bill Ryan thanked the Compensation Advisory Panel work its work but gave no indication of whether the legisalture would adopt its findings.

They worked hard over the last three months to address a difficult issue,” Ryan said in the statement. “The report they have submitted today is thoughtful and deliberative. The legislators will carefully consider their recommendations.”

In its report, the committee calls for a 7.5 increase in the base salary of legislators – an increase of $3,690 to $52,890 – that would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2010. They also caled for a 7.5 percent increase in Ryan’s stipend. The raises are equal to an annual pay increase of 2.5 percent stretching back to the last time board salaries were increased 2006.

Board of Legislators Minority Leader George Oros, in a telephone interview today, he was not prepared to vote for any pay raise for legislators.

Gov. David Paterson warned today that New York faces a $20 billion budget gap over the next three years, raising concern that future belt tightening is desperately needed.

Paterson said a state economic report to be released Thursday will show that New York faces a roughly $5 billion budget gap in the 2009-10 fiscal year and a 50 percent increase in the deficit in the two following years, bringing each year’s gap to about $7.5 billion.

The state Legislature and Paterson approved a 2008-09 budget on April 9 that closed a $4.6 billion budget gap.

“Right now we have to bring some fiscal reality to the state and sometime I wonder what’s going around here because we are deep in debt,” Paterson told reporters.

Despite approving a $121.7 billion budget that increases spending by nearly 5 percent, Paterson has been increasingly critical of state spending.

He has warned that state lawmakers may need to make further cuts to the budget this year, and has called on legislators to start working soon on next year’s budget to prepare for the future budget woes.

The state’s fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Medicaid fraud collections through court actions grew to $112.5 million—nearly double the $59.4 million recovered in 2006.

He released a report today that can be viewed here .

Medicaid is the single largest piece of the state budget, totaling more than $40 billion, and is the largest part of county budgets too.

Cuomo said that $41.5 million in recoveries stemmed from cases involving home health care as part of Operation Home Alone that has led to 32 convictions and more than 80 defendants who have been charged in the investigation.

And more than $35 million came from settlements with more than 30 managed care organizations that submitted duplicate claims.

The report states that the Cuomo’s office:—Increased the staff of the Medicaid fraud unit.—Established Medicaid fraud partnerships with district attorneys
across the state.—Worked with New York City in filing a lawsuit against Merck & Co., Inc., for false marketing of the drug Vioxx.—Created a hotline (1-866-NYS-FIGHT) for New Yorkers to report Medicaid abuse.

In their report to the Westchester Board of Legislators, the Compensation Advisory Committee today recommended that lawmakers’ base salary increase 7.5 percent, but not before Jan. 1, 2010 — after the next legislative election.

The panel also recommended a 7.5 percent increase in the stipend paid to the Board’s chairman. The recommended raises equal annual 2.5 percent CPI increases stretching back to the last legislative salary increases in 2006.

Panel Chairman William Mooney said the recommendations reflect the concern expressed by many Westchester residents about the “growth and cost of government” and the current economic conditions.

Mooney declined to describe the report as a rebuke of Board Chairman William Ryan, but the recommended raise was far less than the 87-percent boost in the chairman’s stipend he sought in December.

The report also raised questions about staffing levels at the Board of Legislators and urged that the “structure of the Board of Legislators should be reviewed by an outside committee to create accurate job descriptions and to streamline operations.”

Mooney specifically cited the $146,000-a-year,  “chief advisor to the chairman” job now held by Gary Kriss, a Ryan confidant. Mooney said the pay panel could never obtain an accurate job description for Kriss’ position.

Assembly Republicans, right, and Senate Republicans, left, in the state Legislature said this morning that cutting the state’s gas-tax cap for the summer, which would save 32.75 a gallon, would help tourism in New York and boost the economy.

Assembly Republicans said the gas-tax cut, which would cost the state between $500 million and $800 million in revenue, would serve as a state stimulus package for the summer months. The plans calls for a suspension of the gas tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

“You’re talking about a lot of savings during the summer months when a lot of the driving is done,” said Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco.

Senate Republicans said that the gas-tax suspension—coupled with a federal and county gas-tax cut—would save drivers 65 cents a gallon. The feds are talking about a gas-tax cut, yet many counties have gone away from gas-tax cuts because they said it hasn’t resulted in savings at the pump.

And Republicans offered no concrete way to pay for the tax cut.

“We have to provide relief so people can afford to live and support their family,” said Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

The Democratic-controlled Assembly has not supported the measure, while Gov. David Paterson said today that he would support the concept but there is no clear indication that gas companies would pass on the savings to drivers.

Dying for the details on the Local Government Efficiency & Competitiveness Commission’s report? The governor’s office has just announced it will stream today’s press conference live on the web here starting at 11:30 a.m.

Gov. David Paterson will not adhere to lower campaign contribution limits imposed by his predecessor, according to reports here and here.

Paterson will accept up to the $55,900 contribution limit allowed by state law, one of the most generous limits in the country.
“In order to compete on a level playing field he will adhere to the limits that are set under current rules,” spokesman Jonathan Rosen told the Albany Times-Union.

Spitzer imposed on his campaign a $10,000 ceiling on contributions from individuals, PACS and  special-interest groups.

Yet Paterson, who isn’t a millionaire like Spitzer, has just 114,000 in his campaign account, according to the New York Sun, and will need to raise millions to compete for re-election in 2010.

Paterson, a Democrat, has said he plans to run in 2010.

The report from the State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness came out this morning from Gov. David Paterson, left, with committee members, and it recommends 76 ways for local governments to lower costs.You can view the report here:

The recommendations include giving local governments and school districts incentives to merge and renegotiating contracts with public workers to reduce benefits.

Here are some of the other recommendations in the report:
—Have public employees pay 25 percent of the cost of their health insurance, phased in over five years.—Allow local governments to renegotiate contracts with their employee unions if they agree to merge.—Merge smaller school districts and eliminate some villages and other local governments.—Make positions in town and county governments like highway superintendent, assessor, town clerk, tax receiver and coroner appointed rather than elected jobs.—Build regional jails to replace county facilities.—Give newly hired workers lower pension benefits than current workers get.

Republican candidate for Congress George Oros announced today that he’s headed to Washington. D.C. for a meeting with one of the nation’s best-known conservative groups:  Grover Norquist’s  Americans for Tax Reform.

Oros, a Cortlandt Republican and minority leader of the Westchester Board of Legislators, said he will meet Wednesday with the group as well as “several Members of Congress to discuss his plan to return this Congressional District to the Republican Party.”

Support from Norquist’s group could help Oros secure the Republican/Conservative base for what’s expected to be a primary battle with rival Republican Kieran Lalor of Peekskill. The winner would take on the incumbent Democrat, Rep. John Hall, in the 19th Congressional District.

“I’ve fought this battle for the last 15 years and am proud to say that it is possible to cut spending,” Oros said in the release.