MTA officials voiced full support for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget to wipe away the transit agency’s red ink, with a tax hike on businesses in the region that will bring in more than $800 million dollars a year and a request that the city pay more money to the MTA, roughly $500 million a year.

“If approved, Gov. Hochul’s budget will certainly have a major and very positive impact on the MTA,” MTA CEO and Chair Janno Lieber said.

Hochul is also proposing dedicating revenue from proposed casinos in the city and downstate region, which the MTA estimates will bring in $450 million in 2026.

The MTA is also balancing its budget with a 5.5% fare and toll increase this year, bringing the cost of a MetroCard swipe up to an estimated $2.90.

Without Hochul’s plan or at least significant aid from Albany, the MTA budget chief laid out the agency’s contingency plan: “lay offs, higher fare increases and service cuts, if her proposal is not enacted into law,” MTA chief financial officer Kevin Willens told the board.

Mayor Eric Adams is resisting Hochul’s request for more city money. One of the mayoral-appointed MTA board members suggested the request for more city aid was unfair and threatened a worse transit system that will keep New Yorkers away from commuting, if the city paid up.

“If you diminish the capacity of the City of New York to address services above ground, it will have an impact below ground,” Sherif Soliman, the MTA board member, said.

The MTA chair shot back in defense of the governor’s budget proposal

“For me, it just reinforces that there’s a great deal of equity that’s built into this. But we’re also respectful of the fact that the debate has to unfold,” Lieber said.

There were no votes taken by the MTA board on its financial plan or on the proposed fare and toll hikes Thursday. The MTA will go back to its board in April to provide an update, once Albany settles the question of how the MTA should be funded.