NYC plans public safety budget cuts

By Sara Kugler
The Associated Press

NEW YORK —

New York City will cancel the police academy's next class, cut hundreds of jobs and close dental clinics for poor children to trim its budget amid an economic crisis, a city official said Tuesday.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg will announce those cuts and others Wednesday when he gives an update on the $59 billion budget, an administration official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the update had not been officially announced.

Bloomberg did not give details on his budget plan at a news conference Tuesday but said he would likely ask for a "slowdown, but not really for a meltdown."

"We don't know just how deep this recession is going to go or for how long," he said.

For now, his update will show that the city faces budget gaps of $4 billion this fiscal year and next, the administration official said.

To help bridge those deficits, Bloomberg asked all city agencies in September to come up with their own plans to cut spending by 2.5 percent this fiscal year, which ends next June, and additional cuts of 5 percent the following year.

Those are targeted to save $500 million this year and $1 billion in fiscal 2010.

The plans include canceling the January 2009 police academy class, which means that approximately 1,100 would-be cadets will not enter the six-month program as planned. The next class would begin in July 2009.

Canceling an academy class is an unusual move. Past mayors have delayed the start of a class by a few months and then accelerated later classes.

In the education department, the city will cut 475 jobs. The majority are central administrative jobs, and about 50 are in schools, but not teachers.

The firefighting training academy will reduce its program from 23 weeks to 18 weeks to save operational costs. Five firehouses will be staffed with fewer firefighters at night.

The Department of Health will close dental clinics that serve 17,000 poor children each year. Officials said the city would rather not shut down the program, but lacking other options they decided to eliminate a service that many families can access through Medicaid.

Other cuts include eliminating 320 seasonal parks department jobs and not filling 187 sanitation jobs dedicated to street cleaning.

Cutting key jobs and services sets up a more difficult environment as Bloomberg prepares to run for re-election next year.

The billionaire independent mayor sought an expansion of the city's term-limits law last month because he believes the city needs him to serve a third term to manage the financial crisis. City Council approved the changes within weeks, and Bloomberg signed the law Monday.