5
JUNE 23, 2019, BROOKLYN WEEKLY
Inside the ‘handshake’ budget pact
What you need to know as de Blasio, City Council reach $92.8 billion agreement
BY BILL PARRY
Mayor Bill de Blasio and
City Council Speaker
Corey Johnson reached
an early handshake agreement
Friday on a balanced
$92.8 billion city budget after
weeks of negotiations.
The de Blasio administration
claims its budget
protects the city’s fi scal
health by maintaining record
levels of reserves and
a “robust citywide savings
program.”
The agreement includes
funding to place 200
additional social workers
in public schools and the
city is expanding its commitment
to senior housing
by adding $275 million between
2020 and 2023 with
resources that will help
generate an additional 800
affordable senior homes.
“We’ve reached an
agreement that promises
to create a pathway to pay
parity for our early childhood
education providers
to address recruitment
and retention issues, expand
services that prevent
unnecessary detention
and fi ghts the widespread
national attack on access
to abortion care,” de Blasio
said. “We’re also strengthening
our support services
is schools by providing
over 200 social workers for
students who need them
most, fulfi lling our commitment
to senior affordable
housing and putting
our new expanded speed
camera into action.”
The City Council and
the de Blasio administration
have jointly funded
justice reform initiatives
that address historic disparities
in the justice
system including an expansion
of diversion programs,
such as post-arrest
diversion, supervised
release and transitional
housing. In order to make
sure every New Yorker is
counted in the 2020 Census,
the budget provides
for outreach staff and public
awareness campaigns.
The Council was able
to secure increased funding
for parks, increased resources
for libraries, summer
youth programs and
trash collection.
“The Council has been
focused on securing a responsible,
equitable budget
for all New Yorker from
day one,” Johnson said.
“This budget is a result of
a united Council fi ercely
advocating on behalf of
our constituents and prioritizing
initiatives that will
benefi t all New Yorkers.”
Johnson added the
Council and the de Blasio
administration will
work together to expand
the staffi ng of the Offi ce of
Hate Crimes.
“We’re accomplishing
all of this while protecting
the city’s fiscal health
by increasing savings and
adding $250 million to our
already historic levels of
budget reserves,” de Blasio
said. “I want to thank
Council Speaker Corey
Johnson, Finance Chair
Daniel Dromm and the
rest of the City Council
for their partnership.”
The budget includes
more than $300 million
in new savings, on top of
the $2.5 billion achieved
in the citywide savings
program over 2019 and
2020, reached primarily
through a permanent
reduction of 2,600 cityfunded
positions.
The City Council will
have to approve the budget
before the fiscal year
begins July 1.
“The FY 2020 budget is
a progressive and responsible
budget that truly delivers
for all New Yorkers,”
City Councilman
Daniel Dromm, Chairman
of the Committee on
Finance, said. “From increases
in funding for our
parks and LGBTQ community
services to an allocation
for additional
school social workers,
this is a budget in which
we can all take pride.”
IT’S A DEAL: Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Corey Johnson
make their handshake agreement in the City Hall Rotunda.
Courtesy of Mayor’s office