Bloomberg Promises Balanced Budget With No New Taxes

In his 2013-14 budget presentation tomorrow, Mayor Michael Bloomberg will put forth a proposal that fills the city’s $2 billion budget gap without raising taxes or imposing new fees, his aides said today.

The city is $2 billion in the hole, even taking into account an expected $1 billion in new revenue from the recently approved taxi reform legislation, $1 billion from the Retiree Health Care Trust and $1.5 billion in savings from cuts made last November, according to City Hall.

“The budget will remain balanced without any tax increases because we budgeted with foresight — saving resources when we could and holding down spending while maintaining City services at or near record levels,” said spokesman Marc LaVorgna.

Back in October, city budget director Mark Page sent a letter to city agencies asking they cut 2 percent from their budgets for the current fiscal year. A citywide hiring freeze was also put into effect. The cuts were expected to result in enough savings to close the projected deficit.

The mayor’s budget last year contained the bombshell proposal to eliminate over 4,000 teaching positions, a threat that was ultimately never carried out. This year, Bloomberg has said he doesn’t expect to recommend layoffs in his preliminary budget.

Bloomberg will present his 2013-14 budget proposal at 1 p.m. tomorrow at City Hall.