Is Mayor de Blasio returning to the budget practices that got the city into so much trouble 40 years ago? That’s a question taxpayers will want Scott Stringer to answer, particularly in the wake of the new deal on the teachers contract.
The contract calls for a 4 percent raise for 2009 and another for 2010, with payments spread out from 2015 through 2020. In some ways it’s an admission the Bloomberg folks were right about the lack of money, because the $3.4 billion for these raises will come out of future budgets.
Budget watchdogs raise their eyebrows over such things. Remember, borrowing from the future to pay current-day (let alone past) expenses was a chief reason the city nearly went belly-up in the ’70s. You don’t take out a loan to pay the grocery bill.
The contract deal with the teachers isn’t exactly the same, of course. In the ’70s, the city routinely assumed debt to cover budget shortfalls; de Blasio hasn’t signaled any intention of doing that. This deal also includes $1 billion in health-care savings, though we don’t yet have the details about how the city will realize those gains.
That’s where Stringer comes in. As city comptroller, Stringer’s job is to look at New York’s financial obligations and sound the alarm if he spots risky moves. This deal is especially important for him to look at, because it is likely to set the pattern for all the other unions waiting to reach contract deals with the city. That could mean billions more from future budgets.
We don’t begrudge teachers or other public servants raises. They have to eat, too. The problem is that the finances are on an unsustainable path largely because they are not paying enough into their pensions and paying nothing for their health care.
Who knows if Stringer will even take up these questions? So far, he’s praised the deal and said a review of the teachers contract will be part of his coming budget analysis. We look forward to that, because only an honest and thorough-going analysis will re-assure New Yorkers the city isn’t about to repeat the mistakes of the ’70s.