Public Employee Press

Bloomberg's last budget cuts jobs and services again

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's last budget proposal would mandate not layoffs but deep attrition in many agencies that would eliminate jobs and cause "serious reductions in public services" as workers try to "do more with less," DC 37 Research and Negotiations Director Evelyn Seinfeld told union delegates Feb. 25 at their monthly meeting.

Bloomberg presented the last preliminary budget of his administration Jan. 29, a $70 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2014, which begins July 1. He is expected to issue his official Executive Budget by early May. Union leaders will be testifying throughout March at budget hearings the City Council is holding to prepare for fiscal negotiations with the mayor aimed at reaching agreement by the June 30 deadline.

The proposal includes some new hiring, including 414 employees at the Parks Dept., mainly in titles represented by DC 37, 28 new civilian workers for the new 121st Police Precinct and 49 positions in the Emergency Medical Service.

The preliminary budget also includes $4.5 billion in Sandy-related expenses, including $1.4 billion spent on emergency response and $3.1 billion for repairs. These expenses will be reimbursed by federal funds.

Service cuts listed in the plan include - again - closing 20 fire companies and eliminating funding for school health centers and vision screenings for kindergarten and first grade children.

The Bloomberg administration's failure to meet a deadline for reaching an agreement with the union on teacher evaluations cost the city $250 million in state and federal aid, and could eliminate up to 1,800 teacher jobs, mainly through attrition. If the city administration remains recalcitrant on the issue, an additional $250 million in state funding could be lost, threatening cuts in after-school and community development programs at the Dept. of Education.

School workers represented by District Council 37 are currently protected by a no-layoff agreement the union reached with the Bloomberg administration in 2012.

With a March 31 state budget deadline, Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented a $143 billion proposal Jan. 22. His budget would increase spending by 2 percent and closes a $1.35 billion deficit, partly by cutting overall aid to New York City.

The city will receive $258 million in aid through the state budget, mainly for schools, with an additional $20 million allotted for schools that lengthen the school day; however, Cuomo's plan would continue to freeze implementation of the aid formula adopted in 2007 to resolve a lawsuit over inadequate school funding.

The budget also includes $21 billion for Sandy recovery and funds to buy out homeowners who don't rebuild in flood zones.

Hundreds of DC 37 activists were planning to join members of DC 37's parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, from around the state March 5 to urge the Legislature to support union issues, including allocating $7 million to fund health insurance for retirees of the defunct New York City Off-Track Betting Corp.

The rank-and-file lobbyists will also push for upping the state minimum wage to $11 an hour. President Barack Obama has called for a hike in the federal minimum wage, and 19 states and the District of Columbia already have higher minimums than New York.