Leaders of the New York City Council on Monday called for many of the spending cuts ordered by Mayor Eric Adams since last year to be reversed — the latest episode in an ongoing debate among local elected officials over the city’s financial health.
“There remain key agencies and service areas affected by the administration’s repeated cuts that remain foundational to meeting the needs of New Yorkers,” Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said in opening remarks at the first in a series of hearings on the mayor’s spending plan for next year. “With higher-than-expected revenues in this fiscal year and a durable, resilient economy, I believe our city has the flexibility to reverse many cuts that have been made, strengthen our city’s workforce, and address our future fiscal challenges, all while being fiscally responsible.”
Ahead of the hearing, the Council reported that the Adams administration had underestimated tax revenues by more than $3 billion for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, which starts in July. But mayoral budget director Jacques Jiha said in testimony to councilmembers on Monday that the city still needs to hedge against expiring federal pandemic aid and costs from the migrant influx, even as financial forecasts no longer look as dire as before.
“Stabilizing the budget does not mean that we are out of the woods, we still have a long way to go,” Jiha said, noting that much will depend on whether “financial conditions improve and the economy remains strong.”
His comments followed across-the-board cuts ordered by the Adams administration in November and January, including to libraries, summer school and other services. They also came after the mayor last month said an anticipated third round of agency pullbacks would be canceled due to increased revenue projections and additional reductions in migrant spending.
Adams’ budget cuts have been broadly unpopular with voters, according to polls. The scrapped third round of cuts would have slashed another 5% from agency spending, though most of the previously implemented cuts remain in place. (The mayor has undone some of them this year.)
Despite differences between the administration and Council over the city’s fiscal standing, both sides appeared to agree on Monday that state and federal officials must do more to support the city’s migrant response.
In response to questioning from Council Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan, Jiha said that less than a third of the $156 million the United States government has pledged to the city for accommodating migrants has actually been paid out. Jiha said bureaucratic processes have made it difficult for the city to get reimbursed by the federal government.
Brannan shared the revelation in a social media post punctuated by two exploding-head emojis.
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