Prominent critics slam Cuomo budget

Now that the three men from inside the room are moving to enact their $132.5 billion state austerity deal, three others -- from outside the room -- are emerging as the pact's most prominent institutional critics.

One is Jonathan Lippman, the state's chief judge, who apparently was bracing for a $100 million cut from the judicial branch's $2.7 billion-plus budget -- but got $170 million slashed instead.

He's warned this week of hundreds of layoffs and the challenge in keeping all courts open.

Initially, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sought a 10 percent slash along the lines of what other independent offices, including the comptroller and the attorney general, agreed to carry out. The current level agreed on by Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is pegged at 6.3 percent.

"The governor is doing his job, the legislature is doing its job and we have been trying to preserve the other branch of our government," Lippman told the New York Law Journal. "Everyone does their part in the equation but, unfortunately, we do not have our seat at the negotiating table."

The question of where and how many court layoffs might occur remains open.

Robert Olivari served in union and management positions during the course of a long career at the Office of Court Administration. He cites the court system's "unnecessary" layoffs in its battle against the governor's office decades ago. Olivari suggests court managers prioritize. "It might be reasonable to look at the funding of some of the ancillary agencies that they fund through the court budget" for alternatives, he said.

A very similar conversation is taking place in New York City, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg, too, has played the layoff card. "Proportionately, the cuts to New York City were unfair and outrageous," Bloomberg said, claiming the five boroughs fuel the state economy but were shortchanged in school aid.

But again, some are skeptical that shedding personnel is necessary. In a statement, United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew said Bloomberg "will now receive $200 million more for schools from the state budget than the governor originally planned. And since the city continues to run a . . . surplus, New Yorkers should wonder why the mayor insists on laying off teachers."

A third prominent critic of the budget agreement is Leah McCormack, president of the Medical Society of the State of New York. She became the leading voice condemning the fact that Cuomo's proposed new cap on medical-malpractice settlements was left out of the final deal. "We are angry, disgusted and feel betrayed by this unconscionable decision," McCormack said. "This deal potentially decimates the already fragile New York health care system."

In Albany's winners-and-losers scenario, some consider Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) getting the short end. His push to extend the income-tax surcharge on wealthier New Yorkers failed, for example. But Silver did oppose the malpractice cap (note that he is a trial lawyer), does continue to command a whopping majority of his house's seats, and ultimately sided with those who trumpet the agreement as a fiscal win for the state.

A big winner for the moment may well be Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) -- whose allies recalled he was urging a no-tax-hike, lower-spending fiscal plan even before Cuomo declared for governor.