City Council budget report sees ways around Mayor Adams' spending cuts

Many of the cuts to essential city services planned by Mayor Eric Adams could be avoided — or at least delayed, according to a report published by the City Council on Sunday.

The report estimates the city will bring in $1.2 billion more in tax revenue this fiscal year than the mayor’s office projected last month, when Adams ordered a 20% reduction in spending. Some of the cuts, including ones to sanitation, police and libraries, would go into effect at the start of 2024.

Adams has repeatedly said the belt-tightening is needed because the city is projected to spend $6 billion on care for migrants over the next two years. But the Council’s report estimates the city can avoid major cuts to services in the short term thanks to “stronger personal income, property, business and sales taxes” than the mayor’s office projects.

The report — which was released the day before a Council oversight hearing on Adams’ budget plan — also says cuts could be avoided by using money in the city’s in-year reserve fund.

“To close budget gaps in the years ahead, it is imperative that the City takes a different approach that prioritizes its investments in essential services, rather than making overly broad cuts, and seeks additional revenue to protect critical programs that support the health of New Yorkers,” Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Finance Chair Justin Brannan wrote in a joint statement. “Our city’s economy will rebound from this challenging period, but it will require strategic and responsible management to ensure New Yorkers persevere without being harmed.”

Brannan said that while City Hall says the migrant crisis helped create the budgeting shortfall, it's actually federal pandemic aid that has contributed to the problem.

"The lion's share of this is coming from the end of those COVID federal stimulus funds," he told Gothamist on Sunday. "I think that's just not as sexy of a story. So the story becomes, 'Migrants equal budget cuts,' and it's just not entirely accurate."

He said the city must take a different approach with its spending.

"The mayor, the administration has focused too much, relying on for-profit companies that have milked the city for millions of dollars when they could have been working with our nonprofit partners, who I think are better suited to serve."

The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment.

The Council report does acknowledge a challenging path forward as the city is “expected to enter a period of slow growth over the next two years.” And it lays out that the city’s tax revenues are expected to shrink this fiscal year compared to the previous one, something that’s only happened three times over the last four decades.