A $112.4 billion budget was agreed to on Friday by New York City mayor Eric Adams and the head of the city council. The agreement included $800 million more in spending than Adams’ most recent proposal in April.
The two sides were able to avoid many controversial cuts to libraries, cultural institutions and early childhood education that were included in the April proposal.
“We have done our job,” Adams said at a Friday press conference, “and will continue to do our job the right way and deliver for the people of this city, working-class people who have often been ignored.”
The budget cuts, which were the subject of a long and arduous debate among city officials, were not able to be avoided altogether. The agreement only adds $20 million to early childhood education, for example, which is still slated to receive $150 million less in funding than last year.
“We did over $7.9 billion in savings. We restored $349 million,” Adams said, referring to the spending reductions that helped the city balance the budget. “We showed fiscal responsibility.”
The new budget agreement will be the largest in New York City history, up over $5 billion from the previous agreement dictating spending for this year. New York’s City Council is expected to vote on the agreement on Sunday, one day before the July 1 deadline.
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As a result of the agreement, New York City libraries are expected to return to being open seven days a week, after closing on Sundays due to proposed cuts.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Adams for comment.
