NEW YORK CITY — The Bloomberg administration has ordered another round of deep budget cuts to help fill a looming deficit — that could grow even worse if the courts don't allow the city to auction off 2,000 new taxi medallions.
In a letter sent to city agency heads Friday, Budget Director Mark Page said agencies must slash a combined $2.5 billion from their budgets over the next year and a half, including $750 million from the current fiscal year's budget and $1.25 billion from the next year's.
“The gaps we are facing must be addressed,” he wrote in the letter. “We will once again need to curtail planned spending, and do so in a way that prioritizes and preserves necessary City services and quality of life,” he said.
The cuts will impact every city agency, including the Department of Education, which has been asked to trim 1.6 percent from its budget this year and 4 percent the next.
Police, fire and other uniformed agencies must trim 2.7 percent this fiscal year and 4 percent the next. All other agencies must slash their spending by 5.4 percent during the current fiscal year, and 8 percent the next. Agencies have until Oct. 4 to submit their plans.
The city is currently facing a $2.5 billion gap in 2014 — a number that assumes the city will be able to pocket an additional $1.46 billion by auctioning off 2,000 new taxi medallions over the next three years.
