November 16, 2022

As you know, we’ve been awaiting the Division of Budget ‘Call Letter’ that is usually sent to state agency commissioners at the beginning of October.  The Call Letter contains instructions for the agencies regarding the parameters by which they must prepare their agency budget proposal for the coming executive budget.  The agencies send their proposal to DoB for review and consideration, and somewhere around mid-January we see where it landed with the release of the Governor’s executive budget proposal.

The Call Letter is linked here.  It requires the state agency leads to prepare a flat state agency budget proposal (no growth from last year, excluding one time investments), and it instructs them to do a top to bottom review of all spending to identify efficiencies and reduce duplicative spending. 

In the letter, Governor Hochul says, “Commissioners must be mindful of Governor Hochul’s commitment to deliver critical services for New Yorkers while protecting our state’s fiscal health, as you develop agency budget requests, which should not exceed enacted FY 2023 funding levels, excluding one-time investments. All aspects of business should be reviewed for savings and efficiencies, and funding requests should articulate execution of this review. The effectiveness and efficiency of every program and every dollar spent should be closely evaluated; unnecessary duplication or overlap should be eliminated; energy-and material-saving measures afforded by technology should be pursued; opportunities to provide services and engage residents digitally should be seized; and attracting and retaining top talent must be a priority.”