Butt out!
That was the blunt message Mayor Bloomberg delivered yesterday to aides of Gov. Cuomo who keep insisting that the city doesn’t have to lay off teachers in order to balance its budget.
“The governor’s office may be an expert on the governor’s office,” the mayor said, responding to a question about comments from gubernatorial aides about the city’s finances.
“The governor’s office is not an expert on the city . . . I think we have a little more credibility in speaking about what we can afford.”
Cuomo’s office declined comment.
The preliminary budget for fiscal 2012 that Bloomberg released last week included 4,666 teacher layoffs, with another 1,500 leaving the payroll through attrition.
The mayor said he had little choice after the governor’s office proposed reducing aid to the city by $1.4 billion.