Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and members of the City Council today announced an agreement for an on-time, balanced budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 that includes no tax increases, while continuing investments in essential City services. The budget remains balanced through billions of dollars in agency savings actions and increased revenues from the city’s economic growth, benefiting from a more diversified economy led by the tech, film and television, tourism and higher education sectors. The budget for FY 2014 allocates an additional $58 million to the New York City Housing Authority, filling some of the gap caused by Federal sequester cuts. It also includes $250 million in City capital funds for resiliency measures outlined in “A Stronger, More Resilient New York.” The City Council is expected to vote on the budget agreement this week, marking the 12^th consecutive year Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council have enacted an on-time, balanced budget.

“Over the past eleven-and-a-half years, we’ve faced some of the most difficult fiscal challenges our city has ever seen – post 9/11 and during the global recession that began in 2008. But as cities and states across the nation experienced large-scale layoffs and severe service cutbacks, our own fiscal discipline and pro-growth economic strategies prevented that from happening here and helped pull New York through those difficult times – most recently, coming out of the recession faster than any other place in the nation,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Our Administration’s final budget reflects the commitment to sound financial management that has helped keep our City on firm financial footing, and to the services and programs New Yorkers rely on. I want to thank Speaker Quinn for her effective leadership, as well as the Council Members for their work.”

“This budget process should serve as an example to our colleagues in government throughout the country, that if you focus on delivering and check the grandstanding at the door, you can accomplish a great deal – and that’s what this is all about,” said Speaker Quinn. “While the Council and the Administration came into this budget with different priorities, we both had a willingness to negotiate in good faith and in the end, arrived at a budget without the bickering and confrontation that is unfortunately too often associated with government. By working together, we’ve ensured that libraries and pools will stay open, parks will be maintained, and preserved both vital childcare seats and after school programs that middle class families depend on. Not only does this budget maintain or enhance services throughout the city, it leaves the next Council, the next Administration and all New Yorkers with the peace of mind that their government was able to work together to protect vital services.”

“We came a long way over the course of this budget process. This year, our City’s finances were faced with two primary obstacles – one natural, Superstorm Sandy, and one manmade, the federal sequestration,” said Council Finance Chair Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. “Recognizing our shared predicament, elected officials and agency leadership put in a lot of hard work and tough negotiation towards producing what I can confidently say is a fair and responsible budget that provides both core services to New Yorkers and lays the groundwork for needed investments into the City’s future. Many thanks to the dedication and hard work from the staff of the Council and Administration, Speaker Christine Quinn, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and of course the public, many of whom wrote letters, made phone calls, and waited in line hours to testify and meet with their Council Members. Together, we’ve continued to move our City forward on sound financial footing.”

Balancing the Budget While Maintaining Services – Prudent Budgeting and Economic Growth

The FY 2014 budget remains balanced without increasing taxes – made possible through years of prudent planning, several rounds of City agency deficit closing actions initiated before the national economic crisis began, and a local economy that continues to grow and diversify.  The budget relies on more than $6 billion in savings for FY 2014 generated through 12 rounds of deficit closing actions taken by City agencies since 2007. 

NYCHA Aid, Cultural Institutions and Libraries

The City has allocated $58 million for NYCHA, replacing some of the Federal funding lost as a result of sequestration. The money will be used to support NYCHA’s core mission of providing public housing while helping to maintain senior centers and other community programs. The City will also provide approximately $13 million to the Department for Youth and Community Development and the Department for the Aging to begin to plan to provide services to NYCHA residents.

The City will continue its strong support of the cultural institutions that have been an increasingly larger driver of tourism and economic activity, maintaining funding for FY 2014 at their FY 2013 levels. The budget agreement also increases funding to the City’s library system, which will allow for, on average, more than five days of service throughout the system.

Capital Funds for Resiliency Measures

The FY 2014 budget includes $250 million for resiliency measures detailed in “A Stronger, More Resilient New York,” the comprehensive report on steps the City should take to protect against the impacts of climate change. Approximately $100 million will support high-priority investments City agencies must make to secure critical facilities and ensure services can continue during and after future storm events. The remaining $150 million will fund resiliency projects, including:

• $47 million for costal protection improvements on the East Shore of Staten Island;
• $40 million to raise bulkheads in low-lying neighborhoods;
• $19.7 million to expand Bluebelts in Staten Island; and
• $3.3 million in matching funds for Federally-funded ferry landing in the Rockaways.

Other Changes Since May

Other changes since the May Executive Budget include debt service savings of approximately $200 million in FY 2014 primarily by taking advantage of low interest rates.

Earlier this month, the New York State Court of Appeals upheld a State law authorizing the City’s establishment of street hail livery service in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and northern Manhattan, as well as the City’s sale of 2,000 additional medallions for wheel-chair accessible yellow taxicabs. The decision allows the City to move forward with the medallion sales, which will generate approximately $1.4 billion over the next few years, beginning with $300 million in estimated revenue in FY2014.

Out-Year Gap

The budget agreement ensures a balanced budget for FY 2014, but New York City will face a budget gap of approximately $2 billion in FY 2015 – a slight decrease from estimates in the May Executive Budget.