De Blasio plans to work unpaid throughout his furlough, his workplace stated. Different staff is not going to be anticipated to work whereas on fu
De Blasio plans to work unpaid throughout his furlough, his workplace stated. Different staff is not going to be anticipated to work whereas on furlough.
The mayor has threatened to put off 22,000 metropolis staff, however has put that plan on maintain amid hopes the state will give town permission to borrow cash and as he works on a take care of unions to make different labor cuts to avoid wasting the $1 billion required to stability the funds.
“We’ve already needed to make some contact cuts which have affected this metropolis, and the providers we offer. We’re making an attempt to do all the things we will to cease these cuts from changing into worse,” he stated.
Fiscal hawks have known as on town to make extra cuts earlier than resorting to borrowing cash, and de Blasio hoped the furloughs, first reported by The New York Occasions, would assist persuade Albany lawmakers he’s severe about reducing again.
Town has requested for authority to borrow $5 billion.
“We’ve to indicate that we’re going to do something and all the things to get via this,” the mayor stated.
The mayor’s workplace’s funds will now be 12 p.c lower than final 12 months, counting the furloughs and former cuts.
Metropolis Comptroller Scott Stringer, who’s working to succeed de Blasio, dismissed the transfer as window dressing.
“That is no time for empty gestures. Because the Mayor nicely is aware of, reducing 1/100th of a p.c of the Metropolis funds is meaningless within the context of a $4.2 billion funds deficit,” he stated in an announcement. “Furloughing Metropolis staff with little payoff as a substitute of scrubbing the funds for actual waste and inefficiency is emblematic of the Mayor’s method to budgeting: a lazy substitute for actual work.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo declined to observe the mayor’s lead in inserting himself on furlough, and took a swipe at high quality of life within the metropolis.
“I’m not speaking about furloughs for per week,” he stated. “I’m saying layoffs are the very last thing you need to do. They’re the final choice. Particularly New York Metropolis the place you may have so many issues — you may have a homeless drawback, you may have against the law drawback, town is soiled, so layoffs are the final choice.”
De Blasio stated strikes like furloughing different metropolis staff as a substitute of doing layoffs could be thought-about. Cuts is also achieved via wage freezes or early retirements, however unions must comply with such measures whereas town has the authorized authority to do layoffs unilaterally.
“The whole lot’s on the desk,” de Blasio stated. “We’re speaking to labor about any and all methods to save cash.”
Invoice Mahoney contributed to this report.