New York City will end fiscal 2010 with a $3.3 billion surplus and will have a balanced budget in fiscal 2011, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a report last week. The lack of a state budget, however, has complicated the city’s budget process.
“New York City is emerging from the recession faster and stronger than expected,” DiNapoli said in a press release. “But without a state budget in place, the city is forced to estimate how much state aid it will get. That only increases budgetary uncertainty.”
The city has not yet passed a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. In the absence of a state budget and with large cuts to education in Gov. David Paterson’s proposed spending plan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed slashing jobs, primarily teachers.
Last week, Bloomberg announced he would eliminate raises to teachers to save 4,400 teaching jobs.
New York City’s fiscal picture has brightened and the recession did not hit it as bad as originally projected. The city’s employment declined by 4.9% during the recession compared to 6.1% nationwide, according to the report. The city lost about 186,900 jobs but since December it has added 53,000 jobs.
“There are some signs of recovery; the city is beginning to add jobs,” DiNapoli said. “But in the face of out-year gaps that range from $3.8 billion to $5.4 billion, there are still some difficult choices to be made.”
Those gaps could increase depending on the outcome of collective bargaining with employees and how the city and state make up for the loss of federal stimulus funds in fiscal 2012, the report said.
