To avoid a potential $2.8 billion deficit this fiscal year, Governor Cuomo and the Legislature concocted a patchwork budget reliant on non-recurring revenue and fiscal gimmicks.

The recently adopted budget relies on $1.5 billion in one-shots - non-recurring revenues that the city reaps from, for example, selling assets.

And, especially in the Republican-led State Senate, this has translated into a willingness to rely on crutches such as "one-shot" or non-recurring revenues that could aggravate a deficit next year.

Ms. Bachrach called the practice "basically short-sighted" - especially since the money, $455 million over two years, is a non-recurring revenue that, even if it comes through, will disappear in two years.

He continues to reject the Assembly's plan, which, though it relies too heavily on non-recurring revenues, makes fair spending cuts in services and administrative costs.

He has often used short-term strategies, like non-recurring revenues.

Once again, legislators stitched together a patchwork of solutions, including non-recurring revenues, rather than make the hard choice of selecting unpopular but broad-based and progressive revenue measures.

Although their plan includes some non-recurring revenues and unrealistically exempts school aid, it is a reasonable start.

"If the 2003 budget is balanced using all non-recurring revenues, then even restoration of sales tax on clothing in 2004 may not be enough to balance the budget," the office said in its review.

It must be a real solution not done with optimistic projections and non-recurring revenues.