If New York needs to cut $1.3 billion from localities in the current fiscal year, how much could North Carolina need to take from Greensboro and Guilford County?

Paterson Proposes $5 Billion in Cuts to Close Deficit

 

Gov. David A. Paterson on Thursday proposed $5 billion in spending reductions over two years to close a gaping state budget deficit. The plan would slash spending on education and health care, but avoid tax increases.

 

“This is a painful plan, but we will share the burden. All of us are going to have to sacrifice to save our state,” Mr. Paterson said in an address at the State Capitol.

 

The heart of the plan involves $3.8 billion in spending cuts for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 fiscal years. The governor is seeking $1.8 billion in across-the-board spending reductions in the current fiscal year, which will end on March 30.

 

The figure includes $500 million in administrative cuts that Mr. Paterson announced this month. The remaining $1.3 billion in cuts comes from a 10 percent reduction in state aid to localities…

 

Mr. Paterson said that drastic cuts were “the only way to keep this state from going into default.”

 

Danny Hakim and Sewell Chan

New York Times, October 15, 2009