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To: sciAticA errAticA who wrote (31540)	4/15/2003 2:18:39 PM
From: sciAticA errAticA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Mayor: Up to 10,000 More Layoffs Possible The Associated Press April 15, 2003, 1:47 PM EDT A "doomsday" contingency budget calls for up to $1 billion in cuts, including the additional layoffs of up to 10,000 city employees and the closing of 30 to 40 more firehouses, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday. But Bloomberg said he remained hopeful the city would get financial aid from state lawmakers in Albany and concessions from labor leaders that would prevent the "devastating" cuts contained in the contingency plan from taking place. "In the end, it is Albany and the labor unions that we have to depend on," Bloomberg said as he outlined plans for the 2003-04 city budget. The $1 billion in cost-saving measures would be on top of $600 million in cuts that are already part of the budget. Those cuts include the closing of eight firehouses and the layoffs of roughly 5,000 city workers. If the contingency plan had to be used and 10,000 more employees lost their jobs, it would be the largest city work force reduction in more than a decade. Bloomberg reiterated his call for a reinstitution of the commuter tax on those who come into the city for work. "The state of New York taxes everybody equally if they work in New York state, no matter where they live. They do it already," he said. "What we want to do is simply say, 'Fairness says if you work in a place you can be taxed.' ... This is not a new concept." Bloomberg said he hopes a commuter tax would bring in $1.4 billion for the city. Bloomberg, a Republican, is also likely to continue seeking: -- $690 million from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs area transit hubs, in back rent payments for Kennedy and La Guardia airports. But the mayor said he was not including any of that revenue in the 2003-04 budget, which he said would allow negotiators time to work out the best possible deal. -- More than $500 million from the federal government for terrorism preparedness and other costs. -- $753 million from the state for education -- $275 million to help pay for teachers' salaries and $478 million to restore school cuts in the governor's budget proposal. -- And about $250 million in other state aid, including in Medicaid and tort reform. The state is facing its own $11.5 billion deficit and has said it cannot afford to bail out the city. Further, Pataki and state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, both Republicans, have said repeatedly that they do not support a commuter tax. The contingency plan calls for eliminating after-school programs; offering summer school classes only for failing students; canceling the July 2003 police academy class, which would reduce the size of the department from 37,210 to below 36,000, its lowest level since 1993; and laying off 1,057 sanitation department employees, including garbage collectors, a senior Bloomberg aide said. Bloomberg was asked if he was trying to scare the money out of Albany and the unions by emphasizing the severity of the contingency plans. "It's not a scare tactic, it is an insurance policy," he replied. "This is our insurance policy if we don't get what we want. I'm not trying to scare anybody." The Bloomberg administration has made about $2.6 billion in cuts during the past 15 months, including ordering eight fire department engine companies closed and reducing services ranging from recycling programs to library hours. The city has also borrowed $1.5 billion, doubled parking violation fines, raised property taxes 18.5 percent, hiked the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 8 cents to $1.50 and left some 14,000 city jobs vacant. There have also been about 1,000 layoffs in the 250,000-member work force. nynewsday.com