“We want to thank the Administration for their work to put forth the Mayor’s final Executive Budget. We remain troubled that deep cuts to programs for children and youth, including EarlyLearn and Out-of-School time (OST), as well as deep cuts to our public libraries and the proposed closure of firehouses remain. Cuts to these programs would do irreparable harm to our city’s middle class families.

“We are particularly pleased to see that the police department will be accelerating hiring this July to prevent a drop in the level of force due to attrition.

“The city’s overall fiscal outlook continues to reflect the solid and steady improvements in the city economy that we anticipated in the winter. Despite the one-time increase in tax revenues this year, this does not substantially change the city’s forecasted revenue base.”

“For the last seven years, Mayor Bloomberg and his administration have worked with the City Council to consistently deliver on-time and balanced budgets. We look forward to a thoughtful review during the Council’s hearings starting May 9, and the negotiating process to again deliver an on-time adopted budget that meets the needs of all New Yorkers.”

###