Phillip Wang in Time Magazine:
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday unveiled a $124.7 billion budget that he said would close a projected $12 billion deficit over the next two years without drawing from the city’s rainy day reserves, raising property taxes, or making major cuts to social services. But the plan relies heavily on state aid and delayed pension payments, raising questions about whether the city has solved its fiscal problems or merely postponed them. TIME has reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment.
The democratic socialist mayor’s first budget arrives as city spending continues to outpace revenue growth, testing his ability to reconcile his campaign promises with fiscal reality while maintaining support from both Albany and the progressive voters who elected him. Much of the budget gap was closed with the help of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who provided $7.6 billion in state aid to the city. Mamdani also said the administration identified additional savings, including by reducing unnecessary overtime costs projected to save an additional $1.77 billion.
More here.
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