NYC budget cuts: Most city agencies must soon cut spending by 4%
NYC Mayor Adams asks city agencies to cut budgets by 4%
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has asked almost all of the city’s more than 60 agencies, including the police department, to cut their budgets by 4%. This move has perplexed city leaders, with some calling it "puzzling" and "hasty and arbitrary."
NEW YORK CITY - In the midst of uncertainty surrounding the now-delayed state budget from Albany, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is asking nearly all the city’s more than 60 agencies—including the police department-- to cut their budgets by 4%.
Only two city agencies are not being asked for a 4% cut: The City University of New York and the Department of Education is being asked to slash their budgets by 3%.
"We reached a point that we're at a cliff," Adams said at a press conference Wednesday.
The move has perplexed city leaders. In interviews with FOX 5 NY, City Council Finance Committee Chair Justin Branna called it "puzzling," and City Comptroller Brad Lander called it "hasty and arbitrary."
The letter sent out by budget director Jacques Jiha.
Brannan and Lander argue the city’s financial position hasn’t changed in months, which is why, they say, they are especially confused by the city’s request that agencies make their respective cut proposals by next Friday, April 14th— giving them just ten days from the day of notification.
"You need to go in there with a surgeon's precision," argued Brannan. "Giving someone ten days to make these cuts-- it means they're going to have to go in there with a scythe. And that's not what we need right now. That’s not what New Yorkers need right now."
Brannan says a 4% cut could "straight-up paralyze" critical agencies, adding they would "obviously have a real-world impact."
"We could see cyberattacks," Lander added. "We could see structural problems with buildings."
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Lander says agencies were already strapped, many already dealing with forced vacancies in staff. More cuts, he says, could impact everything from libraries to building inspections, even cyber security protection.
"When one of those big risks turns into a catastrophe, we'll really wish that we hadn't cut those positions," Lander said.
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In the letter that went out to agencies Tuesday, city budget director Jacques Jiha asked that agencies "avoid meaningfully impacting services."
But, at a press conference Wednesday, Mayor Adams conceded that "every service deliverable that we have will be impacted."
He added, "And we have to be honest about this."
Adams blames the influx of asylum seekers in the city as the primary reason for the cuts.