Mayor de Blasio, Speaker Mark-Viverito, City Council Reach Early Agreement on Balanced FY2016 Budget

June 22, 2015

Agreement Moves Forward Progressive, Responsible, Honest Budget That Tackles Income Inequality and Lifts Up Families Across the City, While Protecting City’s Fiscal Health
Highlights Include New NYPD Officers Coupled with Major Overtime and Civilianization Reforms and Savings, Six-Day Library Service, Extended Learning Time and Health Centers at Renewal Schools, and More

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and members of the City Council today announced an early agreement for an on-time and balanced City budget for Fiscal Year 2016. The agreement on an approximately $78.5 billion budget moves forward key initiatives to tackle income inequality and lift up families across the five boroughs, while protecting and strengthening the City’s long-term fiscal health.

“This budget is a reflection of the responsible, progressive, and honest process we’ve built over the last year and a half. Our productive dynamic with the Council allows us to move forward programs that tackle income inequality, keep families safe, and lift up New Yorkers across the five boroughs, all while protecting our City’s fiscal health,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re strengthening the NYPD’s ranks, devoting new officers to counter-terror work and neighborhood policing, while securing vital fiscal reforms in overtime and civilianization. We are also making critical investments in our renewal schools, libraries, and so much more. Thank you to Speaker Mark-Viverito, Chair Ferreras-Copeland, and all of their colleagues in the Council for their partnership as we reached this agreement.”

Among a variety of initiatives, tonight’s agreement includes:

• $170 million to add new uniformed officers to the NYPD, coupled with vital reforms in overtime and civilianization that will generate over $70 million in savings when fully phased-in. The new officers will be dedicated to counter-terror efforts and neighborhood policing – central to Commissioner Bratton’s reengineering of the Department to bring police and community closer together while keeping crime low.
• $39 million for universal six-day library service, extended hours, and other improvements.
• Significant new investments in Renewal Schools, including $12.7 million for extended learning time, and $2.2 million for school-based health centers in FY17.
• $17.9 million to phase-in breakfast in the classroom at 530 elementary schools, serving 339,000 students by FY18.
• $6.6 million for the Department of Education to hire 50 additional physical education teachers and conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to address barriers and move schools toward full physical education compliance.
• $1.8 million to expand the Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) to serve New Yorkers in need.
• $1.5 million in new staff and resources to meet the Mayor’s goal of ending veteran homelessness, and $335,000 to fund a team of Veterans Service Officers that will be deployed in communities throughout the five boroughs.
• $4.3 million to eliminate waitlists for the Department for the Aging’s homecare program, and $2 million to expand elder abuse prevention.
• $750,000 – growing in the out years – to fund support services through the Seniors in Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) Program; 30 percent of those units are set aside for homeless seniors.
• $21 million for FY2016 only to ensure there are no gaps in service as the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene establishes a more effective RFP process for service providers.
• $1.14 million to fund 80 additional school crossing guards.
• $687,000 to fund an extension of beach season for one week past Labor Day.
• $5 million to dedicate additional resources to inspection and remediation of substandard conditions at boarding homes (known as “Three-quarter Houses”) and to relocate tenants.
• $2.4 million – growing in the out years – to expand CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), with a goal of increasing the community college three-year associate degree graduation rate from 12 percent to 34 percent.
• $1.3 million to expand resources for the Special Narcotics Prosecutor to address drug-related violence.

Budget monitors have validated the prudent way in which this administration has protected the City’s fiscal health. Earlier this month, all three major rating agencies affirmed the City’s strong, stable ratings. In the Executive Budget, the Mayor boosted reserves to unprecedented levels, including $1 billion a year in the General Reserve to provide much-needed protection in the event of a downturn; $2.6 billion for the Retiree Health Benefit Trust Fund; and the first-ever Capital Stabilization Reserve of $500 million to protect the City’s ability to invest in infrastructure and other needs, allowing the City to retire debt in a potential downturn and pay for research to make capital projects more cost efficient.
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