Mayor Adams' revised $107B budget reduces cuts to fire, sanitation and other city services

Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday proposed a revised $106.7 billion spending plan that scales back some of the cuts he had initially sought from public libraries and city agencies like fire, sanitation, parks and homeless services.

But how New Yorkers will feel the impact of pre-existing cuts as well as spending reductions by other agencies will likely be scrutinized as the City Council and advocates dissect the plan.

During his address at City Hall, Adams touted the budget — which is $4 billion higher than his preliminary plan in January — as one that prioritizes working New Yorkers. He said 60% of the budget goes to education, health care and social services.

Nevertheless, Adams acknowledged future “storm clouds gathering” on the horizon.

Adams’ executive budget proposal — which will be reviewed by the Council next month before its passage at the end of June — reflects the prospect of an economic slowdown that will affect tax revenues as well as billions of dollars in costs associated with the care of tens of thousands of migrants arriving from the southern border.

City officials estimate the migrant crisis will cost taxpayers over $4 billion by 2025. The city currently anticipates $1.6 billion of that sum will come from state and federal aid.

Billions of dollars in raises and other benefits to members of the city's unions, who have seen their agreements expire, account for a significant portion of the new spending.

District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal labor union, and the Police Benevolent Association, the city's largest police union, both received generous multiyear deals of $4 billion and $5.5 billion respectively.

The mayor’s office said the city is expecting to spend an additional $16 billion to fund workforce contracts through 2027.

Among the mayor's largest investments in the latest budget proposal are a $23 million plan to expand composting citywide and a $27 million program to expand an initiative known as B-HEARD, which sends a special team of medical and mental health responders to respond to 911 calls instead of police.

But the new spending is unlikely to placate councilmembers, including progressives, who have urged the mayor to restore funding from two cuts he ordered agencies to make.

As many agencies reach their savings targets but reduce spending, critics argue it's inevitable that the cuts will have a widespread impact on essential city services.

“The Executive Budget still leaves our libraries facing significant service cuts, agencies that deliver essential services harmed, and programs that deliver solutions to the city’s most pressing challenges without the investments needed,” said Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “Ultimately, New York City needs a responsible budget that effectively and efficiently prepares us for success by meeting the needs of New Yorkers and protecting against future risks.”

City Comptroller Brad Lander said, “rather than force agencies to make up savings with just a few days notice, the administration would do better to work with agencies on long-term savings strategies over the four-year financial plan that will help keep costs in check without adverse impacts on services.”

Lander added that the city needed to re-examine how it allocates the money it spends to help migrants. According to his estimates, more than 99% of spending goes toward emergency shelter, while less than 1% goes toward helping them fill out paperwork that would enable them to work.

“This is short-sighted,” he said in a statement.

Adams, however, has pointed out that the federal government needs to expedite work permits for asylum seekers, who face a 150-day wait before they can even apply.

Unlike previous years, city budget officials were forced to come up with their plan without an adopted state budget that would address additional funding as well as costs. Usually, the state budget is enacted by April 1. But as a result of the delay, the final city budget plan could still change dramatically when the Council approves it in June.

Budget watchdogs say the mayor needed to make more strategic cuts given the looming deficits facing the city in future years.

The city projects a budget deficit of $4 billion in fiscal year 2025, which will climb to $7 billion in 2027.

During his address, the mayor sought to highlight the gains made by the city in its recovery from the pandemic. The city has regained nearly all of the jobs lost prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Hotel occupancy and tourism have also rebounded.

But he noted some worrying signs. Wall Street — an anchor in the city’s economy — has lost 50% of its profits since peaking in 2021. And office vacancies remain high as New Yorkers continue to embrace hybrid and remote work.

“I would love for my libraries to have all the things that they want,” Adams told reporters when asked if he could accept reduced weekend hours. “But we don't know what the future is going to hold.”

The story has been updated with additional details in the executive budget, comments from Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander.

Due to inaccurate information provided by City Hall, this story has been updated to correct the total amount the city expects to spend on workforce contracts. This is a developing story and will be updated.