By Adam Kramer
Queens’ chairman of the City Council’s powerful Finance Committee said passage of the New York City budget has been stalled as the mayor waits to see whether the state Legislature will agree to his taking over the Board of Education.
The June 5 deadline for approval of budget was not met.
The City Council and the mayor’s office did not come to an agreement on the budget by the deadline because Mayor Michael Bloomberg put negotiations on hold until control over the city school is resolved, said Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis), head of the Finance Committee.
The Council “wants the restoration of about $500 million in cuts from the mayor’s proposed budget, but he came back with $40 million,” said Weprin. “Now he does not want to discuss the budget until school governance is resolved.”
Weprin said the City Council’s budget restores the education cuts from Bloomberg’s budget, but the mayor is holding off on further efforts to close the $5 billion deficit until he knows whether he will be given jurisdiction over the Board of Education and how much money he can push back into the system.
The City Council’s budget calls for administrative services cuts, not cuts to services, Weprin said. The Council is concerned about the mayor’s proposed cuts to senior citizens, youth, education, libraries and the cultural institutions.
The Council wants to have a budget, which goes into effect July 1, in place by June 21, he said, even though there probably will be a mid-year budget modification depending on the revenue gap.
If Bloomberg fails to meet the Council on some of its restorations to his budget, Weprin said the Council can pass its own budget. That budget would then go to the mayor for passage and if he vetoed it, the Council could override the mayor. The comptroller would then have to certify the budget by July 1.
“June 5 is an arbitrary date for passage of the budget,” Weprin said. “It says it in the New York City Charter, but it was placed there for real property tax notices.”
This year the Council will send out the old notices and adjust them up or down depending on the budget, he said.
If there is no budget in place by July 1 or if the city has a $100 million deficit, the Emergency Financial Control Board takes over the city’s finances under state law.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
