Mayor Bloomberg presented the last budget proposal of his tenure as mayor today.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the last budget proposal of his three-term tenure as mayor yesterday, outlining a $70 billion plan for 2014.
Bloomberg’s office boasts of the proposal “provid[ing] for a balanced budget that does not rely on tax increases,” but also highlights the dire straits they say the city’s schools are in after the city and the teachers union failed to reach an agreement on teacher evaluations in time to receive federal funding this year.
The mayor talked about possible teacher layoffs without replacements, estimating 1,800 less teachers. He also proposed eliminating over 700,000 hours of after school programs, “including tutoring for struggling students.”
All of this, he said, is the fault of the $250 million in possible state funding lost due to the dispute over teacher evaluations.
City comptroller and mayoral hopeful John Liu slammed Bloomberg for blaming the teachers union, saying, “He should look to the [Department of Education’s] runway consultant spending rather than make cuts to the classroom.”
The city also anticipates a loss in revenue from taxi medallion sales, down to $600 million from $790 million, due to a lawsuit his office said comes from Bill de Blasio.
De Blasio filed an amicus brief last year in a suit attacking the mayor’s five-borough taxi plan, which would take away the exclusive rights yellow taxis have to pick up passengers on the street.
