Gov. Andrew Cuomo may be effectively closing state budget gaps with few fiscal gimmicks, but he's also proposing to expand his executive powers in how it gets done, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said today in a report.

In his review of Cuomo's budget, DiNapoli applauds Cuomo's ability to stabilize the state's finances. The Democratic governor's proposal would close a $3.5 billion deficit for the 2012-13 fiscal year without the bevy of risky moves that had previously wrecked the state's finances, DiNapoli said.

But DiNapoli warned that Cuomo wants to shift oversight of contracts away from the Comptroller's Office, give the governor's office broad powers to unilaterally make spending decisions and shift billions of dollars to scandal-scarred public authorities.

DiNapoli said the proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts April 1 continues the state's recent trend of aligning revenue with spending.

DiNapoli said the budget plan does offer the state long-term financial viability, limiting future-year budget gaps.

But DiNapoli warned that the state’s fiscal condition remains tenuous, citing the state and nation’s weak economic recovery and the European debt crisis. Those factors could result in a decline in federal aid and lower-than-expected state tax revenue.

DiNapoli also said that some of Cuomo’s budget estimates, such as about $1 billion in savings from agency consolidations, isn’t clear.