Zo closes the city’s $12 billion deficit in the new budget through a variety of fiscal force measures, as per the below City Journal summary. How about our big government guy do so mainly by cutting spending, unneeded programs, laws and regulations, or eliminating legalized tax theft, along with encouraging voluntary business enterprise to return to NYC? Inconceivable:
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took a victory lap around the City Hall rooftop with the release of his proposed balanced budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins on July 1. He’s closed a $12 billion funding gap he inherited on taking office, he claims, without resorting to the dreaded austerity measures supposedly demanded by budget grumps who, unlike him, want to harm “working people” and benefit the wealthy.
Balancing the budget is, of course, the mayor’s job, by law. Mamdani deserves credit for submitting a credible financial plan. Despite his inexperience, he has mastered the process and successfully worked with the governor and the legislature to get the budget relief he needed. But his plan is good for just one year. If he had listened more to the budget critics, less trouble would be in store for the future. Depending on unfolding events, many beyond his control, working people may still find their benefits under serious strain.
The mayor closed the funding gap in two phases. In his preliminary budget, last February, he included $6.6 billion in additional tax revenue over fiscal years 2026 and 2027, and $1.5 billion in state aid promised by Governor Kathy Hochul. That closed most of the gap, but Mamdani also included $1.77 billion in projected agency savings, drew down reserves, and proposed a $3.7 billion property tax increase.
The property tax hike was in lieu of the mayor’s desired increase in personal and business income taxes, which required state legislation that the governor opposed. That ploy was received coldly by the city council, and the mayor has now dropped it. Commentators also criticized drawing down the city’s already inadequate reserves. So Mamdani went back to the drawing board for the May executive budget… Read the Rest