Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed back against the criticism of his pension smoothing proposal and took particular aim at Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s critique of the proposal in an interview with Fred Dicker on Talk-1300 this morning.

“The comptroller’s comments, et cetera: If someone has a better idea, I am open to it,” Cuomo said in the interview.

The proopsal, inserted in his $142.6 billion budget proposal, allows local governments to pay lower pension costs now at the expense of future savings.

The plan, which is optional, has been met with skepticism by Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, the Democratic Party co-chairwoman.

But Cuomo in the interview singled out DiNapoli’s questioning as reported by the Times, throwing a sharp elbow at the fellow Democrat’s handling of the $150 billion pension fund.

The governor didn’t single out Miner for any real criticism in the interview. Instead, he knocked DiNapoli, who is not exactly a political ally for him.

“If we can get better earnings from the fund, that’s an issue we should discuss. We’re compensating,” Cuomo said, adding, “Maybe he can increase the performance of the fund so he doesn’t charge the municipalities so much.”

For what it’s worth, here’s the full statement from DiNapoli’s office on the proposal, which doesn’t appear to be that harsh

Updated: That’s NOT the same statement that was sent to the newspaper. The original statement was expressing “serious concern” over the plan.

“We are reviewing the proposal and continue to ask questions of the Division of the Budget,” he said. “We have concerns about the impact on the Fund but we have an open mind until we finish our review.”

The proposal is aimed at aiding cash-strapped local governments now that are struggling to budget. The plan has been praised by Rochester Mayor Tom Richards, who said the smoothing proposal would help him budget for next year in his testimony to lawmakers yesterday in Albany.

Cuomo echoed that sentiment in the interview.

“This is a financing plan to get you from today to tomorrow,” he said.

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