Most voters back Cuomo, budget proposal

ALBANY - A new poll shows Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's popularity at an all-time high, but it also indicates voters are jittery about his school-aid cuts and a proposal to end the "millionaire's tax."

About 77 percent of those surveyed have a favorable opinion of Cuomo, according to a Siena College poll released Monday. And about 72 percent said they supported his budget plan, which would reduce spending by $3.7 billion - 3 percent - from the current fiscal year.

At least two-thirds of voters from every party and region "say they at least somewhat support Cuomo's budget, with Republicans more supportive than Democrats and upstaters more supportive than New York City voters," said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg.

Voters strongly supported Cuomo's idea of not raising taxes or creating new taxes, his proposal for a property-tax cap, and his call for reducing spending on the state workforce by $550 million or laying off 9,800 state workers if contract negotiations fail.

But they rejected, by 64 percent to 34 percent, his idea of reducing school aid by $1.5 billion (7 percent) statewide. They split almost evenly when asked whether the cuts were "disastrous" or necessary.

Also, by a 2-to-1 ratio (65 percent to 33 percent), voters rejected Cuomo's idea to let the income-tax surcharge on annual income above $200,000 expire. Even those who identified themselves as "conservative" supported extending the tax, 50 percent to 47 percent.

The survey of 801 registered voters, conducted last week, has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.