by Kathleen Lucadamo and Kenneth Lovett
Mayor Bloomberg took another shot at Gov. Paterson in their budget brouhaha Friday by deeming Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver the only grownup in Albany.
"I don't agree with him on everything, but I think he is actually a real adult and is looking out for the city," Bloomberg said of Silver in a not-so-veiled shot at the governor.
"[Silver's] got to look out for his own membership, so ... we don't always agree, but his budget, for example, for the state is more rational than ... the Senate's or the governor's," the mayor told WOR radio.
The Bloomberg-vs.-Paterson blame game escalated this week when Hizzoner unveiled his $63 billion spending plan, which included drastic cuts in city services and slashes 11,000 jobs.
Bloomberg claims Paterson is "starving" the city by planning to cut Big Apple funding by $1.3 billion. Bickering Albany lawmakers have missed the April 1 budget deadline, forcing the mayor to plan for the worst.
Paterson concedes the budget cuts could be severe, but he insisted his choices to close the state's $9.2 billion budget gap are fair.
He slapped at Bloomberg for pointing fingers.
"I don't think at this point in the economic downturn that has affected all states, all localities and is overwhelming our federal government that executives need to be fighting over the proportionality of cuts," Paterson said.
On Thursday, Paterson's budget director, Robert Megna, accused the city of using the state as a scapegoat "to shirk responsibility for their own budget choices."
Paterson agreed, saying it was the mayor's decision to lay off workers while sitting on $3 billion in a so-called rainy day fund.
"I'm sure that they see it as a last resort, but they do have a $3billion surplus," he added.
Bloomberg spokesman Marc LaVorgna said Paterson is "categorically wrong."
The $3 billion surplus from fiscal 2010 is already being used to close expected budget deficits in the fiscal 2011 budget, LaVorgna said.
"What we built up in 2010 helped balance the budget in 2011 and mitigate some of the governor's proposed cuts," he said, simply adding, "It's all used up."
But Megna said he believes the city has budgeted conservatively and likely will wind up with another surplus.
Meanwhile, Paterson sent up his sixth emergency budget extender to keep government operating - with lawmakers expected to vote Monday.
As promised, Paterson's plan includes a provision to furlough 100,000 state workers one day a week until a final spending plan is approved.
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