Mayor De Blasio, City Council Agree On Near-$100 Billion Budget, Including $200 Million Increase For NYPD
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council have agreed on a $98.7 billion budget to help the Big Apple recover from the pandemic.
The budget is $100 million more than the mayor proposed in the spring, CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported Wednesday.
De Blasio and and Council Speaker Corey Johnson shook hands and hugged after reaching a deal they vow will help the city heal after the crippling last year and a half.
The recovery budget is way more than the mayor proposed in April, thanks to more than $14 billion in federal aid.
"This budget will help us to turn the corner. This is a recovery budget that will allow this city to come back strong," de Blasio said.
The pandemic claimed thousands of lives, closed hundreds of businesses, and left hundreds of thousands without jobs.
The budget includes investments in vaccination outreach to help prevent cuts to critical programs and services. Also, $500 million was added to the city's first-ever rainy day fund, which now holds nearly $1 billion.
To bring back the local economy, $11 million is earmarked to help small businesses open or reopen and $30 million has been set aside to boost tourism.
The city will continue to invest in academic and social emotional support, as students return full time in the fall. Another $15 million will into NYC baby bonds, giving every kindergartner a college saving account with at least $100.
With the increase in shootings across the city, the city is making a multi-million dollar investment in violence prevention programs and $57 million for housing, health care, and employment for formerly incarcerated people re-entering the community.
The NYPD has deployed 200 officers from desk duty to the field in high-violence neighborhoods, but the mayor and council went against their promise last summer to cut $1 billion from the department's budget. Instead, they added more than $200 million to the cops' coffers.
"A big piece of the increase is IT needs. We want to have the department be effective. We needed better technology to do it," de Blasio said.
The budget is about $10 billion more than last year's, and reverses cuts to parks, cultural institutions and libraries.
It is the final budget under the current administration and is nearly $25 billion more than de Blasio's first budget in 2014.