New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today issued the following statement concerning Mayor Bloomberg’s Fiscal Year Executive Budget announcement:

Today’s announcement clearly shows that New York City continues to weather an uncertain fiscal period. Given this climate, Mayor Bloomberg should be credited for preparing a remarkably responsible budget plan.

Once again, the City plans to use surplus funds from flush financial times to pay down debt in upcoming years.

I am particularly pleased that City Hall is responding to a concern I highlighted in a March review of the City’s budget that its capital expenditures were unaffordable. The City has addressed this by stretching them out over an additional year, similar to the path followed during the City’s economic crisis after the September 11th attacks. This and other measures announced today aim to reduce the City’s 2010 budget gap by nearly $4 billion.

City Hall has rightly factored into this plan that both Federal and State aid may not materialize due to the widespread downturn in the economy, and has asked all agencies to adopt belt-tightening measures to get through this period.

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