Mayor de Blasio unveils his "fiscally prudent" $74 billion budget

[hrmjustin]

JENNIFER FERMINO

Promising a "responsible, progressive and honest" path forward, Mayor de Blasio today unveiled a $74 billion executive budget that he said will fight income inequality, while also laying the foundation for economic growth.

De Blasio, speaking for nearly an hour in the City Hall blue room, said that the budget shows what his priorities are as mayor.

"Budgets are not just a collection of numbers, they are not just an accounting document. They reflect fundamental values ... I think in this budget you will see clearly what I believe in," he said.

Although the city has made serious strides since the great recession, he said the economy is still "fragile" and would require extreme caution - which he promised to bring to the city's bottom line, despite his long progressive wish list


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/mayor-de-blasio-unveils-fiscally-prudent-74-billion-budget-blog-entry-1.1784841#ixzz319uq7g6j

[hrmjustin]

1. Bill de Blasio Says ‘It’s Time to End Member Items’

Jill Colvin

Mayor Bill de Blasio today repeated his opposition to City Council member items, setting himself up for a showdown in the coming months with council members, who rely on the millions of dollars to fund senior centers, parks and other projects in their districts, boosting their reputations in the process.

Answering questions today after presenting the first executive budget of his tenure, Mr. de Blasio doubled down on his stance against to the funding, which has been the source of considerable fraud and abuse in recent years.

“Look, the council and I agree to disagree. We have a different perspective on this,” declared Mr. de Blasio. “I do think it’s time to end member items. I think that’s the smart path going forward. But I also respect that the council has its own prerogatives and I respect them as a legislative body and we have to work in partnership. So we’ll continue to work on that issue. But I think this may just be one of the areas of respective disagreement.”

Read more at http://observer.com/2014/05/bill-de-blasio-says-its-time-to-end-member-items/#ixzz319vqZ398

[hrmjustin]

2. De Blasio bases ‘real budget’ on UFT pattern

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8545066/de-blasio-bases-real-budget-uft-pattern

[hrmjustin]

3. With pre-K settled, de Blasio funds after-school and arts

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8545058/pre-k-settled-de-blasio-funds-after-school-and-arts

[hrmjustin]

4. ‘Great place’: De Blasio’s budget leaves a (mostly) contented Council

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8545084/great-place-de-blasios-budget-leaves-mostly-contented-council

[hrmjustin]

5. Mayor continues city parks-funding policies, for now

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8545118/mayor-continues-city-parks-funding-policies-now?top-featured-1

[hrmjustin]

6. De Blasio: Mulgrew ‘front and center’ on reforms

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8545138/de-blasio-mulgrew-front-and-center-reforms?top-featured-2

[hrmjustin]

7. Interesting article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/nyregion/the-women-of-new-yorks-city-hall.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytmetro&_r=2

[hrmjustin]

8. Mayor de Blasio forced to change $74b budget after controller voices concerns

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/mayor-de-blasio-forced-74-billion-budget-concerns-controller-office-blog-entry-1.1789292

[hrmjustin]

9. ‘We don’t do incrementalism’

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8545368/we-dont-do-incrementalism

[hrmjustin]

10. De Blasio quietly adds hundreds of millions for charters

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8545418/de-blasio-quietly-adds-hundreds-millions-charters?top-featured-1