Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg unveiled the city's fiscal year 2012 budget (the year starts in the middle of 2011), a $65.6 billion plan that was bolstered by a previously unprojected $2 billion in tax revenue—but it's still a plan that includes the loss of over 6,000 teaching positions (mostly through layoffs), shutting down 20 fire companies, closing at least 100 senior centers, and eliminating day care for 16,000 children. One senior center regular told the Daily News, "People will be left to the streets. Elders with problems at home will have nowhere to go. What happens when they can't get the meals?"
Still, Bloomberg said that the city's overall financial health was "good." According to the NY Times, "New York stands on surer footing than most major cities — at least for the moment — propped up by a financial industry that has come back roaring from the depths of the recession. Revenue from business taxes is expected to grow by 19 percent this year over the previous year. Mr. Bloomberg, taking to the lectern to explain his budget, beamed as he spoke about the city’s record number of tourists, its better-than-average unemployment rate and its recovering commercial real estate market. 'We are in a much stronger position than most because we have planned ahead,' he said. 'I’ve always been optimistic about New York.'"
However, the budget does count on Albany sending $600 million in aid. The Wall Street Journal reports, "If the state fails to cough that up, Mr. Bloomberg warned, the city will be forced to lay off additional employees and cut services further. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he hopes the Legislature will approve an on-time budget before the state's fiscal year begins April 1."
Bloomberg also announced that capital project spending would be cut by 10%. He said, "City government’s job is not to create jobs for every construction worker. Nobody feels more strongly about building things than I do, but there’s a limit as to how much we can build."
