Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the New York City's economy is in distress and can no longer afford two popular pieces of property tax relief as he seeks to bridge multibillion dollar budget gaps amid a nationwide economic slowdown.
WCBSTV reports: The mayor's budget update Wednesday shows that the $400 property tax rebate homeowners have enjoyed for several years will be eliminated, even though he said six weeks ago that he would not do away with it. The temporary 7 percent property tax break put into place last year also has to go.
The rebate has been in place since 2004 to help owners of one- and two-family homes after the city enacted an 18.5 percent property tax hike.
Checks that homeowners were expecting this fall will not go out.
Bloomberg is expected to detail widespread cuts that include canceling a new class of 1,000 police officers for New York City that are set to begin training in January. The NYPD will go without those officers. The next class wouldn't start until June.
He's also expected to call for the closing of dental health clinics that serve poor children and cut nighttime staffing at five firehouses.
Under the mayor's plan, the city's workforce will shrink by 3,000 employees - 500 through layoffs and the rest through attrition.
For those laid off, the mayor promised his administration will try to place them in alternative jobs within the city. And while he said he hopes the budget knife won't go any deeper, he warned that could change.
"You can't take anything off the table...and any elected official who says read my lips is making a mistake we just don't know what the future is going to hold," said Bloomberg.
Bloomberg has been hinting for several months that a temporary $1 billion property tax cut he implemented in 2007 may need to go as well.
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=25515
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