On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a roughly $112 billion budget that restores unpopular cuts to police, fire, and sanitation services as well as schools. However, the proposal leaves libraries with a multimillion-dollar deficit, which would result in Sunday closures at almost all branches.
With a costly migration problem and billions of dollars in federal pandemic aid expiring, Adams faced harsh forecasts about impending cuts to city services going into the 2025 budget cycle, which infuriated local lawmakers and the people. However, thus far, the pain has been lessened by a robust economy and higher-than-expected tax receipts.
Increasing Spendings By $2 Billion
In comparison to his initial proposal from January, his most recent executive budget—which is still up for debate with the City Council—increases spending by $2 billion. The mayor claimed credit for his much-maligned cost-cutting initiatives, which he claims saved more than $7 billion over two years. He gave the contentious decision to restrict the duration of migrant shelter stays as an example, which resulted in a 30% decrease in the city's total migrant spending.
The proposed budget allocates an extra $500 million to schools and certain pre-K programs, and it reinstates the proposal to add 1,200 more police recruits.
The Council will attempt to extract additional money from Adams in sectors like education, where the executive budget did not completely reverse cuts, as it moves toward a final budget agreement in June. Several council members claimed that the mayor's budget officials were significantly underestimating tax collections and attacked him for his universal cuts made the previous year.