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Examination of proposals affecting Council powers
6:33:12
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Council Member Sanchez details specific proposals from the 1999 Charter Revision Commission that would have affected Council powers, and questions Mastro about his stance on these proposals.
- Proposals included limits on Council's budget powers, changes to land use review processes, and increased thresholds for tax increases
- Sanchez questions why Mastro believed the mayor should have more budgeting powers
- Mastro defends the proposals as not being an attack on Council powers, but rather a restraint on both sides of City Hall
- He emphasizes that he learned from the 1999 experience and that his role as Corporation Counsel would be to defend the policies set by the Council and the Mayor
Pierina Ana Sanchez
6:33:12
Thank you, Mister Mastro.
6:33:13
I'm gonna continue here on these lessons.
6:33:16
So the chair of a charter revision commission serves as the principle of that body and has predominant discretion in setting its agenda.
6:33:23
At the outset of the 99 revision commission, you instructed the commission staff to make recommendations on specific charter issues.
6:33:30
Among the recommendations that you instructed the staff to make were not only changes to the role of the public advocate, but also recommendations concerning the powers of the council.
6:33:40
During the July 2022 public meeting of the 1999, charter revision commission, the staff presented to the commission a number of preliminary proposals for changes to the charter that had been formulated pursuant to your instruction, and here's a summary.
6:33:55
First, regarding the council's budget powers, your preliminary proposal sought to limit the council's preliminary budget powers by putting a 4% cap on year to year increases in city funding funded spending.
6:34:07
Of course, under this proposal, the mayor would have been able to waive this requirement by written determination.
6:34:12
Another proposal would have raised a threshold requiring counsel approval for budget modifications to 5% or a $100,000, whichever is greater which was up from $50,000.
6:34:23
In the area of land use, proposed changes would have eliminated the council review of special permits where the city planning commission approves an application by at least a 2 thirds vote in a measure that purported to assure broad based support, reasoning that cutting as much as 70 at 70 days, making the process shorter, and more predictable for meritorious special permit applications was in the public interest.
6:34:46
Additional proposed changes to the land use processes would have given the mayor the power to either veto counsel modifications to CPC approved applications or limit counsel review only to portions of the applications approved by the CPC.
6:35:01
And while these preliminary proposals did not make the commission's final cut, the proposed changes regarding council powers in the area of the of taxes did.
6:35:10
The proposal that passed out of the commission required at least 2 thirds vote of the council to pass any local law or resolution imposing a new tax or increasing any existing tax on rural property and required a 4 5th vote to override a mayor Ovido.
6:35:24
Thankfully, when this recommendation was put to the voters, of New York City by referendum in 1999.
6:35:30
It was defeated.
6:35:31
Questions.
6:35:33
Why do you think this council should approve your nomination to be our attorney when historically you have been openly hostile to our powers and to our standing in city government?
6:35:42
2nd, given that voters overwhelmingly rejected these proposals, do you believe the effort was appropriate?
6:35:48
Why did you believe the mayor should have more budgeting powers?
6:35:51
Do you still believe the mayor should have more budget powers as his recent as mayor Adams' recent commission has proposed to reduce budget transparency.
UNKNOWN
6:35:59
So
Pierina Ana Sanchez
6:36:00
And last, the good government group that you have touted being on the board chair of Citizens Union at the time strongly criticized your end mayor Giuliani's inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars for the campaign to convince voters to support your proposals then.
6:36:14
Do you believe that Citizens Union was wrong or that you inappropriately use taxpayers dollars taxpayer dollars then?
Randy Mastro
6:36:22
Well, that's a lot to unpack.
6:36:25
So let me start with the following, which is that, again, we we learned from 99, and that was not put on the ballot, the proposition that you just described.
6:36:36
Was not, you know, put back on the ballot in 2001, but every other proposal was put on the ballot and passed overwhelmingly by the voters.
6:36:47
It's also the case that the proposals you're describing were were not an attack on the council of the council's powers, the changes in budget structure, and the ability to pass tax increases.
6:37:02
That was a restraint on both both sides of the hole in terms of increasing taxes and in terms of increasing spending amounts.
6:37:14
Right now, the mayor sets the amount of money available in a budget, and then that has to be negotiated and changed and agreed upon when the council adopts a budget.
6:37:24
You know, so that was not a measure that was hostile to the council.
6:37:29
It was one that related to both sides of city hall and their joint powers to do a budget and to pass a tax increase, and they didn't pass.
6:37:38
And as I said, I learned from those things.
6:37:41
And by the way, we went through a process to determine what proposals to put on the ballot.
6:37:47
We modified that by 201, and we put proposals, all of which passed overwhelming with the voters.
6:37:56
But my personal views on these issues I'm not necessarily the ones that came out of a charter vision commission process.
6:38:04
And at the end of the day, I represent the city, including the city council.
6:38:10
You set the policy I defend the policy.
6:38:13
And if it's defensible, I have, you know, argue professionally, responsibly on a principled basis, zealously for the policy that you sent.
6:38:25
And that's what corp counsel does.
6:38:27
Corp counsel doesn't set the policy.
6:38:30
Corp counsel takes its guidance from both sides of city hall on what policies both sides or each side of city hall wants to implement and then defend those policies in court.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
6:38:45
Respectfully, Mister Mister Mastro, on the proposal to on the proposal regarding the council's budget powers, the mayor would have been able to waive the requirement.
6:38:57
So that is not something that was equally affected by.
Randy Mastro
6:39:00
But the council council council
Amanda Farías
6:39:02
council council
Randy Mastro
6:39:03
councilwoman, the mayor sets the amount of revenue available to allocate and has to agree to change that.
6:39:11
That wasn't changing the fundamental powers of either side of the whole, and I that was not the intent of the proposals.
6:39:18
But in any event, as I said, learned from that experience.
6:39:22
But it was not something that was intended to be able to train on one side of the whole and not the other, It was intended to address some fundamental issues, and the voters rejected that, and I learned from that.
6:39:34
Thank you.