With New York City in the middle of a fiscal crisis, Mayor Eric Adams orders massive budget cuts affecting all city agencies
NEW YORK -- News that a pay increase for thousands of NYPD officers is in the works comes as the city is in the middle of a fiscal crisis that has caused the mayor to order massive budget cuts affecting every city agency, including the NYPD.
With the influx of asylum seekers placing a massive strain on the city's budget, in addition to the need to settle labor contracts with all city employees and fear that Albany will hit New York City with a new round of demands, Mayor Eric Adams has ordered city agencies to cut over $1 billion from their budgets for each of the next four years.
"No one would have thought on January 1st, 2022, that we will have a $4.2 billion hole in our budget. No one would have fathomed that, and we had to continue to pivot and shift based on that," Adams said.
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The mayor is asking every city agency, with the exception of the Department of Education and the City University of New York, to cut 4% from their budgets.
The DOE and CUNY will only have to do a 3% cut to minimize disruption in schools and classrooms, according to a letter sent to agencies obtained by CBS2.
Budget director Jacques Jiha warned agencies that the savings "cannot include layoffs and should avoid meaningfully impacting services where possible."
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The city's budget problems have been exacerbated by the fact that over 54,000 asylum seekers have flocked to the city, creating a massive need for shelter. When the mayor took office in January 2022, the sheltered population was just over 45,000. Today, it's nearing 82,000.
"We will have a balanced budget, and we're going to do it with as minimum pain as possible in all of our agencies," Adams said.
Adding to the city's fiscal problems is the fact that the labor contracts with all city workers are due this year. The first settlement with DC37, the city's largest union, will cost the city $16 billion through 2027, and the PBA contract will cost the city $5.5 billion.
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Complicating things further: Tuesday, City Council leaders said they thought there was going to be a $1.3 billion surplus, asking the mayor to approve new spending.
"I'm proud to say that our budget response is fiscally responsible and accountable to the people of our city," Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said.
As for the timing of the police union agreement, PBA President Pat Lynch defended the spending during citywide budget cuts by saying: without safety, you won't have money coming in. In other words, union officials believe this is a way the city can spend money to make money.