County officials tied to the financial crisis to sagging sales-tax revenues and sharp increases in the county share of costs for programs mandated by the state.

The attack is part of a program mandated by Congress called Topoff, which stands for "top officials."

When federal money is unclaimed, taxpayers must dig into their own pockets to pay for programs mandated by Congress.

Overall spending, including programs mandated by law and those supported by user-fees such as aviation security, would be $42.7 billion, up 5.8 percent.

Mr. Halpin said these measures would help pay for the increasing cost of programs mandated by the state.

They said an increase in the county's share of programs mandated by the state, combined with lagging sales-tax receipts, had put tremendous financial pressure on the county.

Any gains in state aid are likely to be immediately absorbed by rising costs and added expenses for programs mandated by the state.

He proposed a two-part solution for school aid: an academic component and a component for programs mandated by the state.

But a significant portion of the money must go to finance programs mandated by the state.

It affects the ability of nearly 40 states to finance health-care programs for the poor, including many programs mandated by the Federal Government.