The clock is ticking for the City Council and the mayor to come to a final budget deal.

Mayor Eric Adams made budget cuts going into the fiscal year in places like education, libraries and cultural institutions, arguing the city was facing a fiscal cliff due to the ending of federal COVID dollars and the ongoing migrant crisis. 

Now, with just two weeks left to go, real disagreements remain. 

“Honestly, it’s a little concerning that at this late in the game that we’re pretty far off on a bunch of important items,” City Councilman Justin Brannan said. 

Brannan, who is the chair of the Council’s Finance Committee, told NY1 that other priorities for the City Council include parks and mental health funding. 

He also noted that there’s a serious disagreement about how much revenue is available for fully funding programs and departments. 

“A lot of this stuff because there’s been so many cuts or proposed cuts fighting to get these restorations doesn’t get these agencies more funds, it just gets them back to what they had last year and that’s just not enough,” Brannan said.  

In May, the City Council said that over a $1 billion more in revenue was available for the upcoming fiscal year that would allow the city to restore cuts to essential services. 

“If you’re looking at the tax receipts, the money is there. There’s just a considerable gap between our reality and their reality,” Brannan said. 

However, even amid the disagreements, the mayor seemed confident on Monday a compromise would be reached on time with Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

 “Adrienne and I are very confident. We know how to get in the room and land the plane,” the mayor said at his weekly question-and-answer session. “Coming from working-class communities, we understand how important it is to get it right and we’re going to get it right.”

Adams has defended his proposed cuts amid criticism. It affected services for everyday New Yorkers like cutting Sunday service at public libraries.  

“The libraries made the decision on how they were going to find savings. And that was one of the decisions that they made,” the mayor said.  

Adams noted he is keeping less affluent New Yorkers in mind ahead of a final deal. 

“We’re going to make sure that we really deal with the affordability crisis that is facing the city. This city and this country, people are really concerned about the ability to put food on the table and to provide for their families,” the mayor said, deflecting blame for reduced service.  

In the meantime, there is at least one thing both sides can agree on — the budget will come in by the deadline at the end of the month. 

“I plan to be on the beach in Coney Island by July 1, so let’s hope so,” Brannan said about his hopes for the budget negotiations to end on time. 

The city budget is due on June 30.