Newspaper Article

City's $3.3 Billion Surplus Hides Coming Storm

NYO Staff

2005

Overview

It is essential that Mr. [Michael Bloomberg] focus on paying down the debt and cutting costs as he and the City Council work out the details of his budget. It was just last year that the state's Financial Control Board concluded that the city's finances were \"structurally unbalanced.\" The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has cautioned that the city's long-term financial health is far too dependent on Wall Street as a source of revenue through income and corporate taxes. And unlike in years past, we can't count on any help from Albany or Washington. George Pataki's atrocious management of the state's finances may result in annual budget gaps of $11 billion in three years, according to some estimates. And George W. Bush has shown himself to be small-minded when it comes to understanding how a healthy New York City economy is vital to the country's well-being. The current Mayoral campaign is an ideal opportunity for the various candidates to present their plans for the city's finances. Unfortunately, the Mayor's new budget again contains a politically motivated $400 property-tax rebate for homeowners, which will cost the city $250 million annually. But Mr. Bloomberg has a solid record of fiscal prudence: He's reduced the municipal work force by 18,000 employees, cut $3 billion from city agencies and increased taxes when necessary. He'll need to continue to be tough and unsentimental as he confronts the coming storm. New York is a town of exceptional people, and certainly one of them was Michael Tarnopol, who died in Manhattan last week. A quintessential New Yorker who rose to the top of his profession, Mr. Tarnopol lived a wide-ranging and generous life. All who knew him were touched by his decency and loyalty. His warmth, exuberance and sense of humor will be sorely missed, as evidenced by the outpouring of love and friendship since his death.

• Publisher: New York Observer, LP