With Budget Cuts in Mind, Bloomberg Hands Out Raises To A Smaller Staff

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http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/09/with_budget_cut.php



Yesterday, we reported on the $2 billion worth in cuts that would skewer the budget in the next two full fiscal years. The main targets included the Police, Sanitation, Corrections, Education and Fire Departments of New York City; overall, the Mayor told the departments that they would have cut their overheard by 5.4% this year and 8% the following year. However, according to a Daily News report, it seems as if the Hozziner's staff in City Hall were not only immune from the chopping block but actually received the spoils.

In the article, it was discovered that ten of the Mayor's employees received a salary bump of 20% or so over the summer. The news, after the announced budget memo, comes off as bad PR for a Mayor that is telling all of City government to tighten its belts a little more than a bit.

However, the Mayor's Office has defended the raises as a reaction to staff cuts; in the last year, 17 workers have been removed from the total staff of 484. In other words, less staff equals more work for employees - the argument goes that the workers deserve higher pay for the new responsibilities. Overall, the budget for the office's salary has dropped off by $1.4 million.

Regardless, the report is the last thing workers want to hear or see; salary raises in the time of cuts to our children's education is not the best news story to deal with. City Councilwoman Letitia James sounded off to the News about that relationship: "It is hypocritical. It's just disrespectful to the people who basically make the city run."