Northeast

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority should prioritize which services could be restored if the New York Legislature finds additional funding, a state lawmaker said at a hearing yesterday.

With a new table-games bill, Pennsylvania now has a balanced fiscal 2010 budget after more than six months of debate and legislative stalemate and just one month before Gov. Edward Rendell releases his fiscal 2011 budget proposal.

The New Jersey General Assembly yesterday approved a bill requiring the estimated costs of tax credits and exemptions to be included in annual budget proposals submitted by governors. The bill, A. 2139, passed 47 to 28, with one abstention.

WASHINGTON — Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon will resign and be sentenced Feb. 4 as part of a plea agreement negotiated with prosecutors after being convicted on one criminal count last year for using gift cards donated to the city.

New York Gov. David Paterson yesterday called on the Legislature to change the way it crafts budgets in order to address the state’s fiscal mess.

The Rhode Island General Assembly began its 2010 session yesterday, but tackling the state’s $218 million current fiscal year deficit was not on the agenda.

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell yesterday said he is “very hopeful” he will receive a table-games bill by the end of the week, which would help balance the fiscal 2010 budget and avoid 1,000 state employee layoffs, but he warned that any future general revenue shortfalls may require reducing the state’s payroll this year.

Gary Dellaverson, chief financial officer of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, retired last week after 19 years at the agency.

Across the country and in New York City, museums and other cultural institutions are trying to cope with lower revenue brought on by big declines in donations and losses on investments even as admissions hold steady.

Incoming New York City Comptroller John Liu is keeping deputy comptroller for public finance Carol Kostik in her current job of working with the mayor’s budget office to put together the city’s bond deals.