AGENCY TESTIMONY
Measures taken to balance the budget and stabilize finances
5:00:35
·
127 sec
Jiha details the tough but necessary decisions made to stabilize the city's finances in response to the budget gap. He outlines various measures implemented to reduce expenses and manage the fiscal crisis.
- Implementation of 3.5% agency PEGs (Program to Eliminate the Gap) in November, January, and April
- Freezing of hiring and OTPS (Other Than Personal Services) spending
- Development of a plan to reduce asylum seeker expenses by 20% in the preliminary budget and an additional 10% in the executive budget
Jacques Jiha
5:00:35
Because we are to reflect the updated forecast in the November financial plan, the fiscal year 25 gap, which was $5,000,000,000 and we think historic norms at adoption, grew to an astonishing $10,000,000,000 To balance the budget and protect the the city's fiscal outlook, we had to act quickly, take matters into our own hands, and make the best use of the limited tools at our disposal.
5:01:06
We could not simply hope and pray that federal aid would arrive or that the economy would bail us out.
5:01:16
This was a risk we could not afford to take.
5:01:21
Accordingly, as I discussed with the council in meetings and at hearings, we made a series of tough but necessary decisions to stabilize the city's finances as early as possible.
5:01:35
This included announcing the implementation of 3 5% agency pegs in November, January, and April, and freezing hiring and OTPS spending.
5:01:47
Further, the mayor asked us to develop a plan to reduce asylum seekers' expenses, which are which have gone to an unsustainable level.
5:01:58
In response, the administration implemented policies to accelerate exits from the city's care and to reduce household per diem costs.
5:02:08
Our goal was to reduce migrant related expenses by 20% in the preliminary budget and an additional 10% in the executive budget.
5:02:21
The measures we took along with better than expected revenue from a resilient economy allowed us to keep both fiscal year 24 and fiscal year 25 balanced and to stabilize the city's fiscal outlook by reducing our out year gaps to manageable levels.
