Thanks to a surge in tax revenues and a boost in state funding, Mayor de Blasio has added more than 3,000 people to the municipal workforce since taking office in January, new records show.
There were 274,447 full-time municipal employees as of Sept. 30, up from 271,296 on Dec. 31, a 1.16% increase.
Two-thirds of the new workers — about 2,000 — were hired for the mayor's universal pre-kindergarten program, plus new special education teachers, both funded by the state, officials said.
De Blasio has also added about 200 civilian employees to the NYPD in an effort to shift cops in desk jobs to the street, and he's added traffic enforcement agents for his Vision Zero push to cut pedestrian deaths. The Department of Transportation's staff has also grown by more than 140 for the Vision Zero effort, and the Health Department has added more than 230 workers to inspect pre-K classrooms, provide health programs for new moms and their kids, and combat rats.
While many companies in the private sector face relentless pressure to slash jobs, the trend in city government has been steadily upward — the workforce has grown under each of the last five mayors, increasing when tax revenues rise and falling only in tough economic times.
The city has added nearly 80,000 workers since 1980, an increase of more than 40%, according to data reviewed by the Daily News.
9 comments:
I'm not sure about the value of these particular people, but I believe the City needs more workers in some areas. Bloomberg cut staffing in many agencies, which was good for improving the bottom line, but bad because then you had situations where things couldn't get done because of inadequate staffing (e.g. At the health department there's only a handful of inspectors to cover thousands of nail salons in the City, and it's been proven that most of them are unsanitary). Adding traffic enforcement officers might have been a good idea if they actually did something to enforce violations. Instead, I suspect these people are just checking parking tickets and inspection stickers.
the answer to this question relies on the competence of these workers.also the vetting of these hires,since a lot of city workers have a tendency to exaggerate OT work.
the departments mentioned in the article does justify the need for these people.what needs to be asked is if there was more hiring in non-essential services like madeinNY and in the mayor's ridiculous bid to get the DNC to have the 2016 convention in the soft part of brooklyn.
Probably a couple hundred are staff in Chirlaine's office.
When the city gives you a job (and therefore the food you eat and the roof over your head), you are more willing to let the city do what it wants whenever it wants and you are less likely to stand up against it.
More prisons and correction officers would be a good start,also Blas should start taxing all the Rikers Island COs who run Drug Rings to supplement their incomes.
He's hiring so that he can shift blame for his failed/failing policies to the "Responsible" city agency.
if you lay them off the city will just be paying them out of another account. at least they are working an paying taxes.
As a government employee you are a member of the dependency class. You are "taking the king's shilling."
You have a stake therefore in a bigger nanny state and higher taxes. You are a reliable vote for any politician promising a bigger government and a public policy solution for every problem.
Where else will Diblesio find voters? That's why Clinton repealed the Hatch Act.
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