Countering Budget Gaps with Budgetary Discipline
By Mayor Rudy Giuliani
There is no one way to fully measure the impact of the September 11th
attacks on America. Our hearts have been broken and we have been tested
in ways that most of us had not previously thought possible. Yet we
have stood strong in the face of this atrocity, and we have asserted
our fundamental human right to live in freedom from fear.
Our City and our Nation have never been stronger or more united,
and our faith in the strengths of community and humanity has been
bolstered by countless stories of heroism and sacrifice. It is this
unprecedented unity and confident spirit that will lead us to a complete
and remarkable recovery, as a City and as a Nation.
As a result of the attacks, our City's economy faces a new set of
challenges. We have every reason to believe that these challenges
can be overcome. The basic economic health of our City is stronger
than it has been in decades. Over the last eight years, we have benefited
from record job growth, business development, and civic revitalization.
This economic rejuvenation has been the product of a number of different
factors, but perhaps the most important has been our administration's
emphasis on fiscal responsibility.
The growth in City spending has slowed significantly in recent years.
Targeted cuts in taxes and spending have given our City a strong reputation
for budgetary discipline, and have boosted confidence among the record
number of consumers, businesses, and investors who have been attracted
to our City over the last eight years.
Due to the present national recession and the enormous costs of rebuilding
Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of September 11th, fiscal responsibility
and budgetary discipline continue to be of the utmost importance.
Accordingly, I have proposed a number of budget modifications that
will help us weather the current economic downturn, and which will
have as little effect as possible on the quality of services that
our City provides. By reducing expenditures, we will be in a better
position to rebound from the recent economic setbacks and will put
our City on a faster track to complete recovery.
In October, I directed City agencies to implement an immediate spending
and hiring freeze to help us recover from the estimated $1 billion
in lost tax revenue stemming from the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Realizing that more needs to be done to make up for the vast economic
shortfalls following September 11th, I have now proposed making these
spending and hiring freezes permanent, as well as making an additional
set of modifications which will underscore our commitment to budgetary
discipline and economic recovery.
Although the challenges we now face are substantial, our City has
faced other significant budget gaps in the past. In fact, when I took
office in 1994, I inherited a budget gap of approximately $2.25 billion
- the most severe gap that any administration had to face in two decades.
Our effective fiscal policy has turned that deficit around over the
last eight years, and despite the recent shortfalls, we will leave
Mayor-Elect Bloomberg with a budget surplus for the year 2002. I am
confident that our lessons of budgetary responsibility will carry
us through these troubling economic times.
Over the past three months, we have proven to the world that New
Yorkers do not back down from challenges. Equipped with this strong
momentum and the recognition that fiscal responsibility has been key
to our City's economic boom over the past eight years, I know that
New York City will overcome any challenges that we may face in the
future.
