Scott Stringer has done the citizens of Gotham a public service by calling out the mayor for the accounting gimmicks he used in his budget. As a result, the city won’t be able to put off some of the current costs of the teachers contract into future years.
Let’s hope the city comptroller takes a similar look at the rest of the contract, especially the so-called “health savings” that were so heavily touted in selling the agreement. Because it looks as though Mayor de Blasio has more fuzzy math.
Asked Wednesday about Stringer’s criticism over the contract’s cost — a major reason Moody’s gave the city a “credit negative” warning — de Blasio blithely responded: “Accounting procedures are, by definition, an area where there is some natural and respectful disagreement about particulars.”
Sorry, Mr. Mayor, these “particulars” are called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. And it’s a problem when the city doesn’t follow them.
Here’s another: The cost of the teachers union’s new contract — announced as about $6 billion — is now estimated to be closer to $9 billion. The mayor’s response? It’s an example of the “moving parts” of any union deal.
So we commend Stringer for holding the mayor’s feet to the fire, and we hope he brings the same attention to the health-care provisions.
In the past, New Yorkers have been burned by bureaucratic bait-and-switch: Elected leaders pass a budget front-loaded with spending (or tax increases) and “savings” or “cuts” on the back end. Money gets spent and taxes are raised — but the promised savings somehow fail to materialize.
Teachers union boss Mike Mulgrew’s glee is another reason for concern. He’s crowing because his members pulled off a contract that did not require them to contribute a nickel for their own health care.
You’d be hard-pressed to find any such arrangement elsewhere — and not just in the private sector. At the state level, Gov. Cuomo managed to get concessions that increased New York’s public workers’ contributions to their health care.
In selling this multibillion contract to New York, Mayor Bill promised more than a billion dollars in health-care savings in exchange for the retroactive pay.
We know the retroactive pay will be real. Dr. Stringer may be New York’s only hope of ensuring the savings are real, too.