New York, NY –
A frustrated and desperate-sounding Governor Paterson met with state leaders to try to come up with a plan to address the state's growing budget short fall.
He says he'll also call them in for another special session in November.
Paterson warned that the volatility and bank failures on Wall Street have led to a a new $1.2 billion dollar hole in the budget.
He says the time for action is now.
PATERSON: This is one of those times when you can't wait for all of the statistics to be in. It's kinda like 'Luke fly the plane,' you have to feel it and you have to respond to it and this is what we're attempting to do right now.
REPORTERS: The governor told Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver now isn't the time to be "prudent and careful" but to act on budget cuts.
Paterson says everything will be up the chopping block, including education funding.
He says he will also present his new budget proposal a month early in December.
Jenna Flanagan has been an Associate Producer and contributing reporter for WNYC's All Things Considered, local news since 2006. Prior to that, she worked for 3 years as a general assignment reporter for the WBGO news department and won a Garden State Association of Black Journalists award.
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