Mayor de Blasio on Monday detailed the preliminary budget for Fiscal Year 2016. Photo Courtesy of Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office
Characterizing the Preliminary Budget as “fiscally responsible, progressive, and honest,” Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday detailed the executive financial plan for Fiscal Year 2016 and how it would, in his words, build “on last year’s strong foundation.”
De Blasio cautioned that while the city experienced another year of economic growth, the $77.7 billion package was crafted through a guarded approach, with the administration focusing on targeted investments “that will protect New Yorkers, expand opportunity, and help create a stronger, safer, and fairer New York City.”
A more prudent path carved out by this financial plan, according to de Blasio, will shield the city from what he called “the real risks ahead,” including significant uncertainties with state and federal aid. And most job growth continues to come from low-wage sectors, while the share of city households making moderate or middle income has steadily declined in recent years to approximately 25 percent.
The administration broke down this year’s Preliminary Budget into four themes: Keeping New Yorkers Safe; Investing in Education; Protecting the Most Vulnerable; and Supporting Economic Development.
De Blasio’s investment in public safety includes $11.3 million a year to add 45 new ambulance tours and $6.7 million a year to add 149 new Emergency Medical Services dispatchers, aimed at improving emergency response times; $7.3 million in FY2015 and $4.2 million in FY2016 to replace all NYPD bullet-resistant vests over five years old; $10 million to expand the Police Cadet Program to nearly 600 cadets; $3.2 million to enhance how the Law Department handles “frivolous lawsuits” against police officers; $35.5 million to reduce use-of-force incidents and violence; and $3.6 million to improve applicant vetting and recruitment at the Department of Correction.
De Blasio said the plan also moves forward his education priorities, including $340 million for full-day universal pre-K for all 4-year-olds; $190 million to expand after-school programs to over 100,000 middle school students; funding for 128 Community Schools, including the transformation of 94 renewal schools; reforms that were codified in the Teachers contract, including $4.9 million to provide 594 Model and Master teacher positions; $700,000 a year for Literacy Intervention Teams to support students with dyslexia; $800,000 a year to provide language services for limited-English proficient parents; $29 million to expand academic intervention and support for STEM at community colleges; $300,000 to complement a recent $859,000 federal grant for the NYSolar Smart Initiative at CUNY; and $1.1 million to expand the Fatherhood Academy at CUNY, helping fathers ages 18 through 24 improve their job and education prospects as part of the Young Men’s Initiative.
The budget’s investments in children, the homeless and immigrants include $28.4 million for rental assistance and support to move homeless New Yorkers out of shelter; $8.6 million for prevention programs and support services to keep New Yorkers stably housed; $11 million next year—and over $26 million total over the next three years—for Administration for Children’s Services child welfare reforms, including training and prevention; and $16.5 million over the next three years to expand community health centers in underserved neighborhoods.
Additionally, de Blasio said the new plan supports small businesses and job creation, including with tax reform that streamlines and modernizes the tax code to reduce the burden on, and provide relief to, up to 45,000 small businesses and manufacturers; and $4.6 million to improve service at the Department of Buildings, to speed up inspections and cut bureaucracy for small businesses.
By Michael V. Cusenza
