ALBANY – Plans to lay off thousands of state workers to help close the budget gap are being opposed by State Assemblyman Frank Skartados.

The freshman lawmaker from Milton is a Democrat like Governor David Paterson, but they break ranks on this issue.

Skartados’ district includes the cities of Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Beacon, all of which have high unemployment.

“I am against any layoffs of any kind in these difficult economic times with high unemployment rates, especially in the inner cities,” he said. “The governor’s proposal to move people from being employed to the unemployment line is of great concern to me. Furthermore, I doubt that any savings will be realized by the governor’s proposal.”

Skartados said the state could have saved $250 million alone over three years just by scrapping ‘high-priced” IT consultants.