Governor and Legislators Work on Getting Budget Done

Looks like we may avoid an Albany shutdown after all. Even though our steamrolling governor threatened to shut down the state government if the Legislature wouldn't agree to his budget by April 1, Governor Eliot Spitzer and the Legislature's leaders have tentatively agreed to a budget. The Sun says the compromise "puts the brakes on but does not completely stop Mr. Spitzer's plans to redistribute more education funding to less wealthy, urban school districts such as New York City, deliver more property tax relief to middle-class homeowners, and slow the growth of Medicaid spending."

With budget now at $121.7 billion (up from $120.6 billion), Spitzer took the bright side of things approach by saying, "We've come very far in what is clearly going to be a multiyear effort to turn the ship of state." However, the Times points out that neither Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver or Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno appeared at Spitzer's press conference, though they released a joint statement. At any rate, getting the budget done on time is a big deal to reform in Albany-minded Spitzer: It's been late 20 of the past 22 years.

Some recent polls on Spitzer: WNBC/Marist shows he's more well-liked by whites than other racial groups while Siena's numbers show his approval has gone down in the past month. And here's how Spitzer's original budget affected you.

Photograph of Governor Spitzer by Tim Roske/AP