Mayor Bill de Blasio issues the preliminary city budget for fiscal year 2015 at the City Hall’s Blue Room last week. Photo courtesy Rob Bennett/NYC Mayor’s Office
Mayor Bill de Blasio used the same kind of language he employed throughout his campaign as he unveiled his $74 billion budget proposal, frequently throwing out phrases like “progressive” and “fair shot” for a plan that landed nods of approval from borough and city leaders.
“There’s nothing mutually exclusive about being both fiscally responsible and economically progressive,” de Blasio said. “This may sound counterintuitive to some, but we need a balanced budget and a strong and stable government to facilitate our fight against inequality.”
The mayor’s budget proposal hit a lot of the same talking points he used to get elected, like expanding prekindergarten and after-school programs. Such budget items almost routinely hit the chopping block in years past under his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg.
Another byproduct of Bloomberg’s budgetary past included the potential nixing of several Queens firehouses. The fiscal dance became an almost annual occurrence in the former mayor’s latter years, and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) said she was thrilled to see the mayor change the financial tune.
“The mayor’s preliminary budget restores funding cuts Bloomberg made to the FDNY, which is vitally important,” she said in a statement. “It also expands funding for homeless prevention and early childhood and after-school learning programs. I look forward to working with the de Blasio administration to ensure that the 2015 budget is fair and balanced.”
City Comptroller Scott Stringer took a deeper look into the numbers and found that unlike most years, the budget was balanced for FY 2015 prior to the release of the preliminary budget, which allowed de Blasio to set aside new revenue. Those savings included $1 billion into the Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund, and $300 million to the general reserve.
“The preliminary budget for fiscal year 2015 contains a double dose of good news,” a spokesman for the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission said. “There is more money than had been anticipated, and it will be put to prudent use.”
The spokesman said de Blasio utilized additional tax revenue to restore $1 billion to the Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund, established in 2006 to build reserves to fund the city’s retiree health liability. The commission was also pleased to see the mayor increase the reserves set aside in future years from $300 million to $600 million annually.
De Blasio also set some money aside for new policy initiatives, including a municipal ID system, $52 million towards relieving New York City Housing Authority of the burden of paying for its own police protection, $35 million for unanticipated snow removal costs, and capping rental costs for those with HIV/AIDS who live in city-supported housing.
On the topic of union contracts, de Blasio faced some criticism over allocating no money to giving city workers raises as he was still anticipating contract negotiations with city unions.
“Negotiating contracts with the city’s workforce is a complex and daunting task, but it is critical that we resolve these contracts if we are going to achieve real balance,” Stringer said. “We have always faced budget challenges in this city and we have overcome those challenges by working together. I am confident that we will find ways to keep the city growing, ensure workers are compensated fairly and maintain New York’s status as the greatest city in the world.”
By Phil Corso
