January 15, 2004
RIAT:
No more Bloomsdays? Mike's budget has (gulp) surplus! (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/15/04)
In a remarkable one year turnaround for the city budget, Mayor Bloomberg presented a $45.7 billion spending plan Thursday that included a $1.4 billion surplus and tax relief for property owners.The surplus, the city’s largest in several years, is due largely to Wall Street profits and comes just one year after the city faced a $6.4 billion deficit — which forced Bloomberg to make deep spending cuts, lay off workers and raise taxes and fees.
“New York City’s homeowners stepped up when the city needed them most,” Bloomberg said in remarks prepared for delivery in a midday budget address. “Now that our fiscal situation has stabilized, they deserve to be rewarded for their sacrifice.
“Over the last two years, we have made the tough decisions that have maintained vital city services, kept control of the city finances with its elected officials and maintained the city’s long term fiscal stability. While we are not out of the woods yet and the city faces considerable challenges in the future, New York’s finances are balanced and our best days are yet to come.”
The centerpiece of the mayor’s plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, includes a property tax rebate of $400 for owners of houses, condos and co-ops to help offset an 18.5 percent property tax hike imposed by the city in December 2002.
So, he's not just a Republican in name, eh? Posted by Orrin Judd at January 15, 2004 1:54 PM
This trade of 18.5% increase offset by $400 rebate is (1) a net increase and (2) makes the property tax quite progressive. Also, the rebate is temporary but the increase is permanent. So it's not obvious he's a full-fledged Republican quite yet.
If the economy keeps improving nationally over the next 18 months, the tax cut will probably come in 2005, when the mayoral election is held and when it would do Bloomberg the most good.
Whether or not this would be enough to bail home out of the hole he's in in terms of favorability ratings remains to be seen, given the city's history of only electing Republican mayors after Democrats have screwed things up so badly (and with liberals in control in Albany and Washington, a traditonal pattern altered by 9-11) that there's noplace else to turn. But the looming field of hopefuls in 2005 looks a little like a local version of the Democrats' presidential field, so there's hope for Mike yet.
Posted by: John at January 15, 2004 8:45 PMA good place to hold the GOP convention, sudddenly looks even better...
Posted by: MG at January 15, 2004 9:12 PM