NYC Mayor to furlough himself and over 400 staffers amid financial crunch

Move is expected to affect 500 staff and save $860,000

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that he and hundreds of other city employees will go on furlough for a week in an effort to save money.  

The manoeuvre comes as New York City faces budget shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.  

The city is facing a $9bn two-year revenue shortfall resulting from the economic shutdown in March and April.  

The New York Times reported that the furlough will affect nearly 500 mayoral staff members and generate $860,000 in savings for the year.  

Mr de Blasio said that his office had no plans to implement pay cuts for himself or other staff members.  

"There are no plans for pay cuts for any New York City employees right now, whether it's City Hall or any place else, but we never know what the future brings," he said. "We're going to be in a horrible budget situation for years, so this borrowing capacity is to give us a fallback no matter what happens up ahead."

Mr de Blasio's salary is $258,750, which means a week-long furlough will cost him nearly $5,000. 

"We have to make tough choices to move this city forward and keep our budget balanced," Mr de Blasio said during a press briefing.

The mayor’s office will face a 12 per cent decrease in its budget this year as a result of the economic shutdown. 

“We’ve already had to make some tough cuts that have affected this city and the services we provide. We’re tried everything we can to stop from those cuts becoming worse. We don’t want to take away jobs from public employees, we don’t want to take away services from communities that need [them]," Mr de Blasio said.

Andrew Rein, the head of New York's Citizens Budget Commission, told The Hill that the cut was long overdue.  

"It would be great if this helps dislodge that inertia," Mr Rein said. "It's hard to say if it will."  

Earlier this year, Mr de Blasio announced the city would cut the New York Police Department's budget by $1bn in an effort to enact police reforms in the wake of the George Floyd protests.  

“I am excited to say that we have a plan that can achieve real reform, that can achieve real redistribution, and at the same time ensure that we keep our city safe,” he said.