October 28, 2021

The NYS Council has learned that state agencies have received the long awaited DoB ‘Call Letter’ – the annual letter from the Director of the Division of Budget to state agency leads that instructs them on the parameters they must follow when preparing their agency budget proposals for submission to DoB.   The instruction is that state agencies must submit budget proposals that hold spending flat (no increase in spending).  However, there is a difference this year in that the Letter also states there will be a process for appropriating additional funds the state has received from a variety of sources (federal COVID Relief funds, Opioid Settlement funds, etc.) through the budget process. This is significant in that the Hochul Administration is acknowledging in writing that there will in fact be a process by which these funds are appropriated rather than the funds simply disappearing from plain sight as has often been the case in the past.

The link to the Call Letter is https://www.budget.ny.gov/guide/brm/fy23-call-letter.pdf.