Mayor Bloomberg’s 2006 Executive Budget is technically balanced but points to huge out-year shortfalls, despite the economic recovery and surging tax revenues.
E.J. McMahon, the Empire Center’s director, discusses the mayor’s seemingly split personality on fiscal issues in an op-ed article in today’s New York Post. Key outtake:
“Bloomberg the pol naturally wants to highlight the good news about life in today’s New York …
“But Bloomberg the no-nonsense CEO is congenitally incapable of blurring the bottom line. And so the mayor also matter-of-factly volunteered that “this city spends more money than it takes in, in an average year.” Some $3.7 billion more next year, to be exact, once you adjust for all the gimmickry and lucky breaks the city has depended on to balance its budgets over the past few years.
“The underlying structural imbalance in the city’s financial plan has gotten $3 billion worse since Fiscal 2001.”
The official budget documents are posted here.
About the Author
You may also like
What They Make 2026: North Country
Lewis County employees held nine of the North Country's ten highest-paid local government positions in fiscal year 2025-26, most of them physicians and medical staff, . Jeffery Hellinger, a Lewis County employee, was the highest paid, at $265,978.
Read More
What They Make 2026: Mohawk Valley
Eight local government employees in the Mohawk Valley had gross pensionable earnings of more than $200,000 in fiscal year 2025-26, . Four were county elected officials and three were Oneida County correction officers. The highest paid was Christina Pea Read More
What They Make 2026: Southern Tier
Mary Nobilski, a Steuben County employee, was the Southern Tier's highest-paid local government employee in fiscal year 2025-26, at $309,582, . She was the only local employee in the region paid more than Governor Hochul's $250,000 salary.
Stat Read More
What They Make 2026: Central New York
Syracuse police officers held all ten of the highest-paid local government positions in Central New York during fiscal year 2025-26, . John Tassini was the highest paid, at $282,861.
Statewide, the 179,222 employees of New York's counties, citi Read More
What They Make 2026: Finger Lakes
Rochester police officers held eight of the ten highest-paid local government positions in the Finger Lakes region during fiscal year 2025-26, . Robert Hill was the region's highest-paid employee, at $314,040.
Statewide, the 179,222 employees o Read More
What They Make 2026: Western New York
Erie County deputy sheriff Simon Biegasiewicz was Western New York's highest-paid local government employee in fiscal year 2025-26, at $305,077, followed by Buffalo firefighter Daniel Bossi at $300,488, . They were the only two local employees in the r Read More
What They Make 2026: Capital Region
An Albany police officer, Willie Flack, was the Capital Region's highest-paid local government employee in fiscal year 2025-26, at $279,370, . Police officers in Albany, Schenectady and Troy and the Town of Colonie held six of the region's ten highest- Read More
What They Make 2026: Mid-Hudson
Town of Ramapo police officers held four of the five highest-paid local government positions in the Mid-Hudson region during fiscal year 2025-26, led by Daniel Hyman at $421,338, the second-highest local government pay in the state, .
Statewide Read More