Has Revenue Ideas To Stop Cuts
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall announced last Tuesday, Mar. 13 that the Queens Borough Board voted the night before to approve a package of expense and capital budget priorities with suggestions on how to generate the savings to fund them.
“This priorities package, which will now be sent to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council, is meant to build our borough,” said Marshall. The Borough Board is made up of the norough president, Queens’ City Council delegation and the chairs of each of the borough’s 14 community boards.
Members of the City Council abstained from voting, which took place at Queens Borough Hall, because they will vote on Mayor Bloomberg’s $68.7 billion spending plan later this year. Council Member Daniel Dromm noted that “I saw lots of things I like,” in the 273-page document prepared by Marshall’s staff.
Marshall said that while the mayor’s proposed budget is fiscally prudent, “it contains an agency gap program reducing already strained services and programs.” She went on to state, “The budget also relies on a $29 million increase in revenue from fees and fines, as well as a more aggressive auditing of high-end tax returns.”
The City Charter requires that the Borough Board submit its Expense and Capital Budget Priorities for Fiscal Year 2012 to the mayor, City Council and the director of Management and Budget; this year, the deadline was Tuesday, Mar. 13.
Budget priorities were determined after compiling information from the borough’s 14 community boards’ priority lists, the Queens Borough Board day-long hearing held in February and additional data.
“The document approved tonight includes not only the Borough Board’s priorities, but also an impact statement for each agency,’ said Marshall. The document also includes revenue and savings options to fund the board’s priorities.
Among the board priorities are:
– Department for the Aging: Restoration of the Borough President’s discretionary funding to prevent the closure of six senior centers, four Adult Day Care Centers and dozens of vital services and programs for seniors throughout the borough.
– Office of the Queens Borough President: Restoration of $1.7 million to provide a fair share of funds for the Office of Queens Borough President.
– Community Boards: Restoration of full funding of $12,165 per board.
– Fire Department: Restoration of funding to keep open four fire companies: Engine Co. 294 in Richmond Hill; Engine Co. 306 in Bayside; Engine Co. 328 in Far Rockaway and Ladder Co. 128 in Long Island City.
– Queens Borough Public Library: Recognizing that the system has almost 900,000 cardholders and more than 14 million visitors, the Borough Board called for the full restoration of funding for the library and $1 million in new funding to operate the Children’s Library Discovery Center.
– Department of Cultural Affairs: Restoration to eliminate a decrease on average of 45 percent from the FY2012 budget to the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. The board noted that, “Reductions of this magnitude will undoubtedly result in struggling cultural organizations closing their doors.”
– Department of Youth and Community Development: The Borough Board calls for full funding and does not support the $8.9 million in reductions proposed for Fiscal Year 2013. A planned reduction would eliminate seven Beacon programs in regions with what the department deems those with the “lowest need.”
– Administration for Children’s Services: Restoration of $13.58 million for child care vouchers and $6.4 million for six child care centers, including the Bethel Mission in Far Rockaway.
– Police Department: Full funding for the Police Cadet Program to provide a path for young city residents to obtain experience in law enforcement.
– City University of New York: Funding of $2.2 million for a Black Male Initiative to support programs and services to recruit and support under-represented groups, particularly black males.
– Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Health and Hospitals Corporation: Continued funding of $5 million for 30 citywide, HHCoperated, child health clinics, including those in Jamaica, Corona and Far Rockaway; $2.5 million for an Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative; $2 million for rapid HIV testing; $2 million for geriatric mental health services and $1.25 million for increasing autism awareness.
– Department of Parks and Recreation: Elimination of compounded staffing reductions in FY 2012 which continue in FY2013 ($5.786 million in attrition and $2.9 million in full hiring freeze). The Borough Board also recommends full funding for parks to be maintained adequately.
– Department of Housing Preservation and Development: The Borough Board seeks full funding for Community Consultant programs, which provide Housing Court assistance and anti-eviction services.
– Department of Small Business Services: The Borough Board urges continuation of $594,750 to help the local business community.
– Department of Sanitation: The Borough Board calls for public review of the costs and benefits of a plan to privatize operation of four marine transfer stations to achieve $8 million in savings in FY2014 and beyond.
– Domestic Violence: Some $260,000 is requested for a Queensbased Batterers’ Program that would include anger management and substance abuse counseling. Continued funding is also requested for more than $3.3 million for domestic violence initiatives supported by the City Council.
– Assisting New Immigrants: The Borough Board supports providers and advocates, who are requesting funding to maintain and expand linguistically appropriate and culturally sensitive programs and services that are a lifeline to the diverse immigrant communities of Queens.
– Revenue and Saving Options include up to $300 million derived from extending General Corporation Tax to insurance company business income; $197 million from adoption of Citizens Budget Commission recommendation for the creation of a “one-stop” advanced e-procurement system and oversight entity for vendors to eliminate duplicative oversight and create an efficient central management system; and $50 million from a proposal to tax cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures.
