City Council Hopes to Sway Albany on Borrowing

Mayor Bill de Blasio says the only way to avoid 22,000 layoffs this fall is to allow City Hall to borrow billions of dollars. But state lawmakers and the governor have to be on board, and so far they've been cool to the idea.

But now the mayor is getting support from the City Council in the form of a resolution.

What You Need To Know

City Council introduced a non-binding resolution supporting mayor’s quest to borrow billions, avoid 22,000 municipal layoffs

Albany must approve borrowing at that level, has been cool to the idea

The resolution is meant to help change their minds

The city faces a massive budget shortfall due to the COVID-19 crisis

“I think that New York City deserves the authority to borrow funds to meet our immediate needs given the impact of COVID-19 on our revenue," said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. "We had a $9 billion budget hole.”

The resolution was introduced Thursday, but likely will not be voted on until next month. It’s non-binding, and also different than what's called a home rule message, which is often required before the state passes legislation affecting a municipality.

“This is a resolution to show that the Council is supportive of this, and hopefully it gives Assembly members and state senators a reason to move forward,” added Johnson.

Critics say borrowing will only saddle future generations with debt.

“New York City should not borrow now. It should be a last resort. And we are not at that place," said Andrew Rein of the Citizens Budget Commission. "The reason borrowing should be a last resort is because it pushes costs into the future.”