(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is clashing with the City Council over its version of the budget that scuttles his plan for higher taxes or tapping into the city’s reserves to reduce shortfalls.
The Democratic-controlled Council released its preliminary budget plan Wednesday that calls for reducing a projected $6 billion revenue shortfall through cost and revenue “re-estimates, efficiencies and reforms” and “additional revenue-raisers” over the next two years.
Council Speaker Julie Menin said the spending plan will fund spending priorities “without increasing taxes on property owners and renters, reducing funding for critical services, or drawing down the city’s reserves.” She said New Yorkers are facing a “serious affordability crisis” as the city struggles to plug budget gaps, and that the council “has a responsibility to act as a strong fiscal steward.”
“We cannot in good conscience fund the City’s needs on the backs of homeowners or renters, by digging into emergency reserves, or by cutting essential programs,” Menin, a Democrat, said in remarks Wednesday. “Our response offers a clear alternative to taking those steps, puts the City back on stable footing and invests directly in New Yorkers.”
But Mamdani blasted Menin’s budget, claiming it “would result in slashing billions of dollars from agency budgets, which would force the city to cut services.”
“Double counting previously identified savings, overestimating revenues, and exaggerating debt service savings does nothing to close a deficit,” the Democratic socialist said in a statement. “Any proposal that claims we can close this gap without significant new revenue is unrealistic.”
Mamdani has asked state lawmakers to approve his plan to increase taxes on the city’s top earners and corporations to help reduce the budget deficit. He criticized the council’s proposal for asking lawmakers to approve only one measure providing relief for a city class size mandate.
“It refuses to address the deeper structural imbalance between the City and the State, or to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and most profitable corporations,” he said in the statement. “It effectively ensures this structural deficit will continue indefinitely.”
Mamdani rolled out his preliminary $127 billion budget in January that called for fulfilling a campaign pledge to raise taxes by 2% on millionaires and increase the combined corporate tax rate to just over 22% to reduce a budget deficit and foot the bill for his lefty agenda.
He has also threatened to increase property taxes across the board in New York City unless Albany lawmakers approve his controversial plan to increase taxes on the city’s top earners and corporations.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who was seeking reelection in the fall, swatted down the idea of giving New York City approval to raise taxes on the wealthiest residents, calling it a “non-starter.”
