Mayor Bloomberg yesterday warned city agency heads he may need to slash their budgets by up to 9.5 percent if unions don’t cough up $600 million in savings.
Uniformed agencies were given a 2.5 percent target, except for the Police Department, which was largely spared, with a mere 1.3 percent reduction.
The Department of Education faces a 3.5 percent cut.
“It is going to be very difficult,” Bloomberg wrote in the bad-news memo to agency heads. “The next round of cuts – if we cannot get cuts from productivity, cuts from labor – the next round of cuts will be very painful.”
Thousands of layoffs loomed unless the unions provided savings totaling $600 million before April 15, when Bloomberg is scheduled to release his fiscal 2004 budget.
“We will either get help from the unions or, if they choose not to, that’s totally up to them. We have to save the money some ways or other,” the mayor said.
“If we can’t achieve that, we’ll do the other. But it’s not a threat. It’s not trying to pressure anybody. We have to, by law, balance the budget.”
Although the mayor avoided using the word “layoffs,” city officials said it would be impossible for many agencies to reach their targets without whacking personnel.
Randi Weingarten, president of the teachers union, said she was surprised the contingency-cuts memo was distributed without informing the unions.
“I think the timing is unfortunate,” she said. “It doesn’t bode well.”
Bill Cunningham, the mayor’s communications director, said the impact on individual agencies could vary.
“Different unions have different members in different agencies,” he explained.
“We’re looking for $600 million. If some give us $300 million, and some are not part of that, that has to be factored in.”
The cuts would be the latest in a series imposed by the mayor – with more seemingly inevitable, no matter what happens with the unions.
Bloomberg also hinted that he’d have to reduce revenue estimates – and spending – once again because of the slump on Wall Street.
“The last few days should give you great cause for concern,” he said after announcing a program to clean up the Queens Plaza area using 1,300 low-level offenders performing community service.
“Our budget assumes a certain level of profits on Wall Street, and included in our budget are cuts which are going to be very painful. The $600 million is just one of them if tax revenues aren’t up to the level we are projecting.”
THE AX FALLS – AGAIN
AGENCY BUDGET PROPOSED CUT-SAVINGS
Education $5 billion $175 million (3.5 percent)
Children’s Services $636 million $60 million (9.5 percent)
Transportation $491 million $47 million (9.5 percent)
Police $3.35 billion $44 million (1.3 percent)
Fire $1.04 billion $26 million (2.5 percent)
Sanitation $953 million $24 million (2.5 percent)
Cultural Affairs $103 million $9.8 million (9.5 percent)
[Source: Mayor’s Management Report