City Council Floats Its Own Budget Ideas to Counter Eric Adams’ Cuts
Tapping reserves and asking Albany to raise taxes are among the possibilities under consideration.
The leadership of the City Council is crafting an alternative to the budget cuts announced by Mayor Eric Adams that potentially includes using the city’s robust financial reserves to stave off immediate cutbacks and asking Albany for tax increases next year to bolster the budget.
In media interviews since the mayor announced his plan to cut the city budget — to deal with the costs of the asylum seekers and looming deficits, he says — finance committee chair Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) has called for using the reserves, contending that tax revenues will exceed the administration’s forecasts.
He also has said the Council is preparing a package of “revenue raisers,” among them tax increases that require approval from state lawmakers. Revisiting tax breaks and collecting unpaid fines and fees are also under consideration.