The Independence Day celebration started early for many New York activists and groups seeking taxpayer funding — thanks to the seasoned pork stuffed into the record-spending, $98.7 billion city budget just approved by Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council.
Awash with nearly $16 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds, a lame-duck de Blasio and many-term limited Council members rammed more discretionary funding into virtually every nook and cranny of the budget, documents reviewed by The Post reveal.
Council members have the authority to steer millions of dollars to pet programs — and boy, did they ever, likely saddling the next administration and New Yorkers with a yawning deficit.
The amount of funding spent via council initiatives exploded from $376 million last year to $516 million this year — a 37 percent increase, according to city budget documents. The overall increase is even up 13 percent over the $454 million spent in the pre-pandemic Fiscal Year 2020.
Some of the money seems to be burning a hole in people’s pockets,” said Andrew Rein, executive director of the Citizens Budget Commission.
Rein said that in general the mayor and council “are not spending the federal money wisely and strategically” and are leaving the next mayor and council with a projected $5 billion budget gap.
The budget documents show that Speaker Corey Johnson, in particular, is leaving the council with a bang.
The funding under Johnson’s direct control — the Speaker’s Initiatives to Address Citywide Needs — skyrocketed from $6.79 million last year to $34.65 million in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget the council passed on June 30. That’s a 410-percent increase.
The boost in spending surfaced after critics privately grumbled that Johnson used his power over the budget as a slush fund to leverage support in his run for city comptroller, a position that is intended to serve as a fiscal watchdog for the city.
And the boost wasn’t merely making up for cuts in spending during the pandemic last year. Two years ago, the Speaker’s Fund spent $12.8 million — so, it’s still up 170 percent from pre-pandemic spending.
“This dramatic increase in Corey Johnson’s use of taxpayer dollars to benefit his campaign is another example of corruption. Once again, Corey uses the budget to favor those who support him and to punish those who question him,” said Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a rival in the Democratic primary for comptroller.
“Another reason why I insisted on more transparency in the budget process, before the primary when the speaker was using the budget to buy votes.”
8 comments:
NYC budget includes $10M for ‘Education Equity’ classes
This the new “woke” curriculum and critical race theory amounts to racial indoctrination.
Now that Trump is gone, we can get back to trusted leadership.
Beyond unacceptable! Get your act together NYC!
If I did my job like these two Numskulls I’d have been fired a long time ago.
Actual classrooms in public schools are getting almost nothing. Schools are way behind on meeting basic educational standards, which dragged through courts for nearly a generation. The DOE is just adding to the 6400 administrators we already have but not improving education in any way.
Second. NYC is in the process of throwing all retirees off of Medicare for a privatized crap advantage program that will hand high profits to the private sector. I know people who have worked forty years for the city to get health benefits on retirement. Surprise, cough up thousands extra each year. You're screwed!
Not so long ago, this 'CUJO,' I mean 'CoJo' creature was publicly complaining about depression. I think that I just found the link to Karmic Corey's chronic bouts with depression: Bartering one's soul for monstrous greed, graft and UNJUST ENRICHMENT, whilst pretending to be a public servant, and creating (foisting) a deeper fiscal burden of profligate, wanton waste & mismanagement onto the next crooked administration to abuse and cover up, with impunity.
Hence, the cycle of public corruption throughout New York State government, and the intense rail of exponential incompetence just continues to spiral out of control by the hour, all Rotten Apple survivors, with the force and velocity of Hurricane Sandy. But, as apocalyptic as city and state government remains, I predict that the cycle of crony, 'tired vulture' capitalism, as it relates to all DemonRat, strenuously failed public service henchmen, will make this round of graft look like a heavenly departure.
CUJO LOSING TO BROAD PANDER
Not so long ago, this 'CUJO,' I mean 'CoJo' creature was publicly complaining about depression. I think that I just found the link to Karmic Corey's chronic bouts with depression: Bartering one's soul for monstrous greed, graft and UNJUST ENRICHMENT, whilst pretending to be a public servant, and creating (foisting) a deeper fiscal burden of profligate, wanton waste & mismanagement onto the next crooked administration to abuse and cover up, with impunity.
Hence, the cycle of public corruption throughout New York State government, and the intense rail of exponential incompetence just continues to spiral out of control by the hour, all Rotten Apple survivors, with the force and velocity of Hurricane Sandy. But, as apocalyptic as city and state government remains, I predict that the cycle of crony, 'tired vulture' capitalism, as it relates to all DemonRat, strenuously failed public service henchmen, will make this round of graft look like a heavenly departure.
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