City Council Approves $92.8 Billion NYC Budget

NEW YORK — This budget's in the books. The City Council adopted New York City's $92.8 billion budget for the 2020 fiscal year on Wednesday, less than a week after reaching a deal with Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The spending plan boosts the city's reserves by $250 million amid a risky economic outlook. It also includes millions of dollars in extra funding for parks and libraries; 285 more social workers for public schools; and commitments to pay parity for pre-kindergarten teachers and public defenders.

"A budget is always an expression of priorities, and today we are showing New Yorkers that they are our top priority," Council Speaker Corey Johnson, a Democrat, said in a statement. "This budget is for everyone, with historic investments in the parks, libraries and schools we all depend on."

The budget is nearly $3 billion larger than the one lawmakers adopted last year and about $300 million bigger than the one de Blasio proposed in April. It reflects the precipitous growth in city spending since the Democratic mayor took over — then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg's executive budget proposal in 2013, his last year in office, was worth just $69.8 billion.

De Blasio has said that the latest budget reflects a realistic approach to the city's economic challenges and the increased financial burden from the state government.

But de Blasio and Johnson should have put more money in the city's reserves while its economy is still strong "in order to protect New Yorkers when the rainy day arrives," said Andrew Rein, the president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a watchdog group.

"The budget agreement includes $329 million in new savings plus recognition of additional revenues," Rein said in a statement last week. "The most prudent course of action would have been to place the vast majority of these new resources in reserve; however, most of the funds were dedicated to service expansion and new spending initiatives."