Comptroller Bill Thompson yesterday rejected Mayor Bloomberg‘s claim that there’s no cash for property-tax rebates, saying the money could come from nearly $2 billion that the city is rolling over into the next fiscal year.
“The money is there. It only requires creativity, thoughtfulness and a consideration that budget cuts should not disproportionately affect New Yorkers,” Thompson told The Post.
The comptroller, a Democrat running for mayor next year, made his remarks a day after Bloomberg told homeowners he planned to withhold their $400 checks because “we have no money.”
Yesterday, Bloomberg spokesman Marc LaVorgna restated that, with a projected “$4 billion deficit,” rebates can’t be paid “without making up the money somewhere.”
The mayor himself gave no sign of backing down from threats to withhold the rebates, despite widespread City Council opposition. But he sounded more conciliatory.
“We’re going to reach an agreement – not just on the rebate, but property taxes and all sorts of other revenue enhancements and efficiencies that we have to have,” Bloomberg said.