Speaker Adrienne Adams, Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan, and Council Members Announce Agreement with Mayor Eric Adams on Fiscal Year 2024 Budget

 

The on-time $107 billion budget ensures investments in essential City services, health and safety, education, and quality of life

Speaker Adrienne Adams, Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan, and Council Members joined Mayor Eric Adams to announce an agreement on a $107 billion budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. The FY 2024 budget outlines the Council’s commitment to protect New Yorkers from many interruptions and cuts to essential services needed to keep the City safe, healthy, and successful. Despite multiple crises facing the City, the Council and the Administration were able to deliver an on-time budget that preserves many critical programs and makes some key investments.

“The Council’s focus in this budget has been to protect the essential services that the people of this city rely on to be healthy, safe, and successful,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “We took seriously our task to negotiate the best possible outcomes and deliver results for the people of our city. Through difficult negotiations, the Council worked to bridge the distance between us and the Administration, fighting to restore investments in essential services and funding many programs that we know our families, communities, and city need. Though we have come to a budget agreement today, the Council knows we must continue to push forward in our year-long budgetary, legislative, and oversight efforts to secure the investments that New Yorkers deserve.”

“The Council entered into budget negotiations this year with eyes wide open to the challenges on the horizon and at our doorstep,” said Council Member Justin Brannan, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Finance. “We have never doubted the durability of our city’s economy but we also recognize that resilience doesn’t happen on its own – it requires thoughtful, targeted investments. When money is tight, decisions must be made. Our negotiations were no different from the often tough conversations working families have around their dining room table as they try to make ends meet for another month in the most expensive city in the world. But even with an uncertain fiscal future and a migrant influx everyone agrees New York City cannot handle on our own, with a nearly $107 billion budget, we knew there was still no reason for cuts with a scythe. Instead, we fought for thoughtful, surgical investments and focused our priorities where they mattered most.

Council Member Brannan continued, “This Council fought and won critical investments and restorations for our community schools, our libraries, and our seniors. We reversed cuts to NYCHA, secured funds for expanded 3K programs, and bolstered citywide mental health initiatives. We fought to safeguard funding for our cultural institutions and expanded Fair Fares so less New Yorkers will need to choose between a meal and a MetroCard. We secured funding for arts and music education in our public schools and more trash pick-ups to keep our streets clean. I say it often: a budget is more than just an itemized list of expenditures. It is a values document. You can tell me what you care about but prove it to me by showing me what you spend your money on especially when times are tough and money is tight. It all comes down to priorities and from the start of these negotiations this Council was laser focused on protecting what New Yorkers need to recover, succeed, and be healthy and safe. New Yorkers don’t run and hide, we stand and fight. This city’s best days are ahead of us – I would never bet against New York City.”

The $107 billion FY 24 budget agreement includes a full restoration of the proposed cuts to the City’s library systems and restores funding for education programs for New Yorkers of all ages, from early childhood education to higher education. It also includes expanded access to the Fair Fares program, increased baseline funding for legal services to prevent New Yorkers from eviction and other challenges, restoration of meal programs for older adults, baselined funding toward wage increases for contracted human service employees, additional investments in violence prevention programs, and restoration of funding litter baskets in neighborhoods.

The Council and Administration were also able to secure a balanced FY 24 budget through a strong economy and higher revenue projections as outlined in the Council’s Executive Budget forecast. With more challenging years ahead and slow economic growth expected, the Council emphasized they will remain focused on ensuring government services continue while also maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Highlights of the FY 24 budget include:

Ensuring Delivery of Essential Services

• Completely Restoring Funds for the Three Library Systems: $36.2 million.
• Restored Funding Additional Litter Basket Collection: $22 million.
• Increasing Support to Legal Service Providers, including Right-to-Counsel: New Baselined $30 million as part of a total increase of $46 million.
• Fully Restoring Cuts to Cultural Institutions: $40 million.
• Continuing to Serve Seniors with Nutritious Meals: $7 million restoration of older adult meals, with $2.5 million for senior center meals and $4.5 million baselined for home delivered meals.
• Funding Groceries to Go Program: $5.6 million secured for this program that helps address food insecurity by providing eligible New Yorkers with monthly credits for groceries and a 50% discount on purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables. 
• Supporting Low Wage Workers: $1.9 million.
• Restoring Urban Park Rangers: $4.1 million.
• Restoring Green Thumb Funding: $2.6 million.
• Restoring Funding for Tree Stump Removal: $2 million.

Building Stronger Neighborhoods and Opportunities

• Providing Wage Adjustments for Non-Profit Human Services Sector:: Baselined total of $100 million in FY 24 due to an additional $40 million, plus an additional $50 million baselined in FY 25 for a continuing total of $150 million.
• Expanding Fair Fares to More Low-Income New Yorkers: $20 million baselined on top of FY 23 $75 million for a total of $95 million.
• Reversing Cuts to New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)’s Vacant Unit Readiness Program to expedite the availability of vacant apartments online: $32.9 million.
• Sustaining the Commission on Human Rights’ Source of Income Discrimination Unit: $1.3 million.

Safeguarding Education and Learning Opportunities

• Providing Funding for Supportive Programs for K-12 Students: $30.3 million includes the Mental Health Continuum ($5 million), Community Schools ($14 million), Immigrant Family Engagement ($4 million), Arts Education ($4 million baselined), Shelter-Based Coordinators ($3.3 million).
• Supports Early Childhood Education for working families: PromiseNYC ($16 million) and converting of 1,800 school day, school year seats to extended day, extended year seats ($15 million baselined).
• Helping Young New Yorkers Be Career Ready: $22.5 million for the Work, Learn and Grow Program.
• Restoring Funds for CUNY Programs: $32.4 million (Includes funding for Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE): $9.1 million; Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP): $5 million; CUNY Reconnect: $5.8 million; Academic Advisors: $5.9 million).
• Funding Adult Literacy Programs: $6.7 million.

Improving Community Health and Safety

• Prioritizing Crisis Management System (CMS) and Violence Prevention Programs: $86 million.
• Reducing Recidivism and Strengthening Reentry: $121.2 million for Alternatives to Incarceration and Detention Programming.
• Preventing Overdoses and Treating Addiction: $14.6 million.
• Preserving Health Care Access through NYC Care: $100 million.
• Sustaining the City’s First Trauma Recovery Centers: $2.4 million.