FOR RELEASE:

DiNapoli Releases State Cash Watch Numbers

Scheduled Payments May Soon Exceed Available Dollars

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today released the first of a series of updates on the state’s cash position. The updates are part of DiNapoli’s on-going effort to increase fiscal transparency for the state’s taxpayers.

“New Yorkers understand the bottom line; they’re living it every day,” DiNapoli said. “They need to know the state’s bottom line. Some steps have been taken to narrow the budget gap, but we’re not out of the woods yet. While the checkbook has enough it to cover the bills we have to pay today, the state’s cash flow is so tight that might not be the case tomorrow.”

Additional significant payments scheduled for December
(as enacted in the 2009-10 State Budget)

• $2.5 billion for School Property Tax Relief Program (STAR)
• $1.6 billion for school aid (legally due on or before December 15th)
• $461 million for Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM)
• In addition, this year December has five Wednesdays, which is the day weekly Medicaid cycle payments are typically made. The payments have averaged between $400 million and $500 million.

The State Comptroller’s office processes approximately 130,000 state payments daily. In State Fiscal Year 2008-09, it processed more than 34 million payments totaling approximately $103 billion.

NOTE: These payments are subject to change pursuant to reductions made in the Deficit Reduction Plan passed by the Legislature on December 2, 2009 and potential further actions by the Governor.

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