In the New York City preliminary budget plan for the fiscal year 2023, which was presented this Wednesday by Mayor Eric Adams and will have $33,500 millions of dollars, the priority will be to increase funds for public safety and “put more money in the pocket of the working class.” Thus, in his words, the president summed it up.
The first spending and investment plan presented by the new Adams Administration, which would come into force on July 1, focuses on economic recovery of the Big Apple after two years marked by pandemic devastation, which, added to the national inflation rate, continues to hit the poorest communities the hardest.
“We are cutting costs, investing in security public and providing help to working families. The steps we are taking will make New York a safer, fairer and more prosperous city,” he said.
In your investment sketch of 2023, Adams proposes injecting more funds into social programs that encourage the creation of more nurseries to guarantee the return to work of mothers, help families below the poverty line to finance the Metrocard of the Subway, promoting youth employment and a series of public health initiatives.
Although it is expected that in the next few hours the budget items and the specific scope of each social program will be published, it was announced that will be invested $05 millions for child care through the benefit of tax reductions to owners who modernize spaces for new day care centers.
$ were also announced millions to help parents get back to work with tax credits for businesses that provide free child care or subsidized.
At this same address, an investment of $13.5 million for the ‘Fair Futures’ service to prepare young people to come out of age in foster care centers with tutoring and other important services.
In addition, the Mayor also proposes to reduce maternal deaths and childbirth complications with an investment of $3 million in a program to care for high-risk patients. Also the provision of $30 millions for home medical check-ups for new mothers in the 33 most affected neighborhoods by COVID-000.
“Until the rising levels of gun violence end, New York will not be the best city in the world to raise a family, open a business or be visited by tourists. This crime rate delays the recovery of the city and the prosperity of New Yorkers”, stressed the president.
Optimization of the NYPD
The Adams Administration reiterated in its plan of investment for the 1536, an approach made earlier in the year, that the existing resources of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) will be optimized to redeploy more officers on Subway platforms, create Neighborhood Safety Teams and anti-weapon squads.
In order to support this strategy, investments in more technology are not ruled out to support officers to detect weapons on the streets, and in parallel 27 , Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) slots, which increase ta job opportunities at that time of year in 98,000 posts.
“This increase not only marks the first time the program will be funded annually, but also represents the largest number of jobs available by SYEP in the 60 years of history of the program”, clarified Adams.
Cuts, new income and reserve fund
One of The good news is that despite the heavy financial burden caused by the public health crisis and years of fiscal loopholes, there is an expectation of revenue growth to the City coffers of at least $726 million in the fiscal year 2023, from taxes to property that are projected even higher than pre-pandemic times.
In this budget, the Mayor closes the gap in the fiscal deficit dragged on by the City for years, saving almost $3,000 million to face a city economy slowed down by the omicron variant of COVID-19, to yes as the threats to the recovery posed by record office vacancy rates and job recovery. million that implies the cut of 3,200 positions for the remainder of the fiscal year 22 and 7,000 in the year 2023.
This means a reduction in the number of municipal workers from at least 3% of staff in most City agencies.
Prior to their announcement, it was unclear whether those cuts would extend to the NYPD or the Department of Education (DOE) where union forces already accuse a decrease in disincorporations s and retirements.
It was clarified in advance that this will not imply dismissals from the municipal payroll, since the reduction will be achieved through the “non-substitution” of vacancies.
Mayor Adams is also proposing an increase in budget reserves to a total of $6,100 million, more than $1,000 million than the fiscal year level 2022. And, according to his criteria, it is the “highest level” reached in the history of the city.
After the preliminary presentation of the spending and investment plan, there will be what is compared to a “dance” of negotiations with the Municipal Council, the presidents of the five boroughs, the community boards and the Comptroller, which will end no later than May.
The first reactions
Although Adams’s speech delivered this Wednesday hardly includes the general lines of how the resources that New Yorkers pay in taxes will be invested, in addition to the allocation of funds from the State of New York and the Federal Government, already in some sectors they raise some concerns.
In effect, the president of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Michael Mulgrew, in a statement raised his concern that next year the already deficient personnel in the schools will decrease.
“With a record $6 billion in reserves, it is impossible for the City to use e poverty as an excuse to avoid investing in our children”, he highlighted.
The union leader noted that the good news about the budget provides the Adams Administration with a unique opportunity to improve services to students.
“We expect the creation of new professional teaching positions, even the reduction of class size”, he maintained.
Instead, the ombudsman , Jumanee Williams, reacted positively to the ideas outlined by the municipal president, valuing that long-term solutions have been considered to improve the quality of life of those most affected by the pandemic.
“The Key among the investment areas are community-focused public safety solutions. While law enforcement has a role to play, it is critical that we expand the reach and budget for non-police alternatives, whether it be for mental health crises, traffic enforcement, and homelessness. And we think there’s a clear vision in this budget that we’re still looking at,” Williams said.
According to financial experts, this plan will be defined by additional funds of up to $1,05 millions in windfall tax dollars to help the City weather the end of aid received last year from the White House due to the pandemic.
This conclusion is based on the fact that real estate properties in New York City are worth $1.4 billion in total, 2% more than before the COVID crisis struck-13.
This “extra money” that the coffers administered by the Mayor will receive was confirmed by City Comptroller Brad Lander in a statement: “Our point of view highlights good news for that recovery and the fiscal year budget 2023 of the city d, property values have recovered much more than anticipated and are now generally above pre-pandemic values.”
Lander estimates that while there are reasons to be optimistic about our city’s overall economy, there are serious questions about whether all New Yorkers will benefit.
“Persistent inflation represents a challenge for low-wage workers. The supply of residential rental units has fallen below pre-pandemic lows, and rent prices are rising rapidly just as the eviction moratorium expired,” the official responsible for overseeing agency finances said with concern. from the city.
The Comptroller announced that he will be “very closely watching” the numbers presented by the Mayor, over the next few months, with a watchful eye, if it will be an inclusive recovery shared in every neighborhood in New York City.
“As we turn the corner from the omicron wave, there are many signs of an economic recovery. Job creation has increased and New York City’s unemployment rate is trending downward, although it is still higher than the national rate,” he concluded.
- $98,150 million is the budget ba expenditure and investment report submitted by Mayor Adams for the fiscal year 2023.
- $1.6 thousand thousand lons was the increase in tax revenue projections for the fiscal year 2022 during November due to Wall Street activity and real estate growth. These revenues helped close the budget gap for the fiscal year 2022.