Bloomberg, Quinn Announce 'On-Time, Balanced' $68.5B Budget Deal
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council have reached an agreement on next year's city budget.
Both sides announced the agreement on the roughly $68.5 billion budget Monday.
Under the plan, which covers the fiscal year beginning July 1, there will be no tax increases.
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"Working together -- as I've said again and again was gonna happen -- we've produced an on-time, balanced budget for our city that does not raise taxes on New Yorkers and that preserves the essential services that we all rely on," Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg also said there would be no cuts to essential services, like firefighters, police officers, and teachers.
"The number of classroom teachers will increase in the next school year. We've maintained the strength of the NYPD and the FDNY," Bloomberg said.
The budget has increased funds going toward child-care programs, which had been under threat of cuts.
"This budget affirms the city's commitment to improving the quality of child care," Bloomberg said.
"A budget is a statement of values. It's a statement of priorities and with this budget, I think all of us in City Hall have made clear that the children of New York City are without a doubt our number one priority," Council Speaker Christine Quinn said.
The City Council is expected to vote on the budget agreement this week.
The budget could still be thrown into disarray later in the year. Officials are counting on $635 million from the sale of new taxi medallions. But the auction has been held up in court.
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