Council blasts Bloomy on budget

Although the City Council finalized a $59.1 billion budget deal that restored some cuts from the mayor’s proposed budget, many councilmembers are still outraged that many programs, including vital social services ones, will face funding cuts.
During a special meeting on Sunday night, June 29, the City Council voted 49 to 1 in favor of the budget deal, with only Brooklyn Councilmember Charles Barron voting against the deal which restores nearly $412 million of the $700 million in planned cuts.
“We are truly seething that the mayor refused to make those adjustments,” said City Councilmember Leroy Comrie, who represents southeast Queens.
The council tapped into its own discretionary funds to largely make up the $129 million in cuts planned for city schools and restored $18 million in cuts to the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
Comrie believes that Bloomberg underestimated city revenues again this year, and said with the tough economic times it would be even more imperative to keep programs that are critical to so many people throughout the city.
“[Bloomberg’s] willingness to put forward these kinds of cuts to middle class New Yorkers speaks to being out of touch with the lives of middle class outer-borough New Yorkers,” said City Councilmember James Gennaro.
Meanwhile, Gennaro pointed the blame at Bloomberg, but for different reasons, saying that he failed to stand up to Albany and make sure the city got its share of state aid. Gennaro said that this year the city gave Albany more than $11 billion in aid than it received, and a small percentage of that money would have helped make up the $288 million difference in cuts.
“What we need is a mayor that will take on this Albany inequity with the same kind of zeal that he takes on congestion pricing and all this other stuff,” said Gennaro, who mentioned the waterfalls and the failed Olympic bid as two examples where Bloomberg and his aides lobbied hard in Albany.
However, Queens did benefit in a number of areas with more funding restored to borough schools, the continuance of the $400 property rebate for homeowners and a seven percent property tax reduction.
Part of this year’s budget includes more than $45 million in member items that Councilmembers dole out to local community organizations. This year’s member items received significant attention in light of the Council’s slush fund scandal where the Council allocated millions of dollars to fake organizations so it could tap into those revenues later in the year.
“I think it created an unnecessary level of panic and a reluctance to do certain things,” said Comrie, who also said that the increased scrutiny and openness will have a positive result down the road once people get over the initial uproar.