Mayor Adams orders $1 billion in annual budget cuts for four yearsBy Bernadette Hogan and Jesse O’Neill
April 4, 2023
Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday ordered city agencies to slash a total of $1 billion annually from their budgets for each of the next four years, blaming the move partly on the migrant crisis.
The dire directive came one day after City Council leaders said there was $1.3 billion in extra taxpayer cash this year to offset costs and two months since the city’s Independent Budget Office projected a $4.9 billion surplus in 2023 and a $2.6 billion surplus in 2024.
City Hall dismissed council claims of a surplus Tuesday as nothing more than budget mumbo jumbo to pressure the mayor to avoid cuts — and even an IBO official said his agency would likely have to revise its glowing projection.
“Proposals in the state budget, the growing asylum-seeker costs and slowing economic growth increase are all reasons to be cautious,” acknowledged Logan Clark, IBO’s assistant director of budget review.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has already cautioned that the Big Apple’s budget deficit could rise to $13.9 billion by 2027 — double what City Hall has predicted.
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Jiha said agencies must submit their proposals for the cuts by April 14 but added that “they cannot include layoffs and should avoid meaningfully impacting services where possible.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/04/04/adams-orders-1-billion-in-annual-budget-cuts-for-three-years/