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The Bronx Borough President\u2019s Office hosted a virtual meeting discussing Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s Preliminary Budget for fiscal year 2027, which was released on Feb. 17.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Photo Ed Reed\/Mayoral Photography Office<\/p>\n
The Bronx Borough President\u2019s Office hosted a virtual meeting discussing the mayor\u2019s Preliminary Budget for fiscal year 2027, which was released on Feb. 17.\n<\/p>\n
The meeting was held to give residents, nonprofits, community groups and educational institutions the opportunity to provide feedback on the mayor\u2019s budget for the Bronx.\n<\/p>\n
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said that she is \u201cvery concerned\u201d about the possibility of a property tax increase, outlined as one of two solutions to the two-year $5.4 billion budget gap<\/a> in the preliminary budget for FY27, which must legally be balanced by the deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to have a zero balance, which creates a lot of challenges because we have to identify revenue streams as well as some of the ongoing expenses that the city of New York has,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n In order to address the gap, Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> has offered two paths, a preferred solution and a last resort solution.<\/p>\n Solution one would be increasing personal income taxes for wealthier New Yorkers and corporate taxes on the most profitable corporations.\n<\/p>\n Solution two would be implementing a 9.5% property tax and raiding the reserves, placing the crisis on the \u201cbacks of working and middle-class New Yorkers.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani hopes that the city won\u2019t have to turn to \u201csuch drastic measures\u201d to address the gap, but if their preferred solution fails, the Mamdani Administration will have no other choice but to follow through with their proposed option.<\/p>\n Gibson said that in a budget briefing with fellow borough presidents and New York City Council members, the 9.5% property tax increase caught the most attention.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI am opposed to the proposed 9.5% property tax increase, as we represent many working-class homeowners who are struggling to afford living in our city and any other proposals that would cause undue hardship on our residents and families,\u201d Gibson told the Bronx Times in a statement.<\/p>\n Gibson said that the property tax structure is \u201cflawed and outdated,\u201d and hopes that the property tax proposal will cause Albany to urgently address the inequity.\n<\/p>\n The final executive budget is set to be released in late March or early April with some modifications, according to the borough president.\n<\/p>\n Gibson said Mayor Mamdani is trying to avoid cuts to city services and his administration hopes that Albany will send more money to increase the budget, but some of the vacant spots in agencies will not be filled for cost savings, as budget negotiations continue.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile fiscal responsibility is essential, it is our responsibility to ensure that efforts to balance the budget do not come at the expense of the working families, older adults, and young people who rely on critical city services,\u201d Gibson said in a statement.<\/p>\n Gibson also said she would like to see an increase in the New York City Fire Department\u2019s budget to \u201csee the fifth firefighter baselined into the budget for every fire house in the Bronx.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe city\u2019s budget is growing. Spending has increased exponentially. There\u2019s a couple million dollars set aside for warming centers,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a couple of million dollars set aside to add a fifth firefighter to some of our fire houses, particularly in the Bronx, where we\u2019ve seen far too many fires.\u201d\n<\/p>\n These new costs along with emergency food assistance, hiring more attorneys, supporting immigrant families and funding the New York City Department of Sanitation for the new snowstorms weren\u2019t factored into last year\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n Gibson hopes that she can find common ground with Mayor Mamdani.\n<\/p>\n \u201cIf anything, I said to the mayor, we were looking to add more money for cultural organizations, colleges and universities, for parks, the 1% minimum that we\u2019ve been fighting for for years. A lot of good things that we wanted to add,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Unless there\u2019s a significant amount of new revenue, there won\u2019t be an increase in funding for programs and services, according to Gibson.\n<\/p>\n Gibson assured that there are a lot of \u201cmoving parts\u201d in this budget process, but she encourages people to continue sharing their recommendations with her office and connecting with local council members and the Bronx delegation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will issue our official response to the mayor\u2019s preliminary budget at our next borough board meeting, and I look forward to working closely with our fellow borough presidents, colleagues in the city council, and stakeholders to identify ways to address the city\u2019s budget deficit during this process,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Reach Keke Grant-Floyd at keiwana.grantfloyd19@gmail.com<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> and follow us on Twitter<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t