Mayor Mamdani left the door open Monday to delivering the city’s executive budget proposal late, as the state budget talks drag on in Albany nearly a month past the deadline.
The mayor, when asked about that possibly Monday, said he is in “active conversation” about whether to delay the budget plan’s release, which is due May 1, this coming Friday. He said those talks have been “productive.”
The state in recent years has regularly blown past its April 1 budget deadline, posing a problem for localities that rely on state funding.
This year, New York City’s budget hinges even morethan usual on Albany.
The mayor has lobbied the governor for more money in order to close what he’s projected to be a $5.4 billion budget gap including his proposals to implement tax hikes on the city’s wealthiest residents and most profitable corporations.
Hochul has been resistant to both of those ideas, but open to other revenue raisers like her pied-a-terre tax, which would implement a surcharge on second homes located in New York City that are valued at $5 million or more. Officials have said that proposal could generate $500 million per year for the city.
“This is an active process, one that we are still in the final portions of, and as we have any more updates on that, we will be sure to share,” Mamdani said in response to a question about whether he expects the governor to grant him more tax hikes.
To postpone the executive budget’s release past its deadline, Mamdani would need the support of the City Council. A spokesperson for the speaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Hochul called a budget extender “a choice,” citing the state funding the governor has already committed to the city
“The Mayor and City Council need to work together, identify savings, and close the remaining gap,” Jen Goodman, the spokesperson, said.
The executive budget is the next step in the budget process, and represents the final round of negotiations between the mayor and City Council in deciding how to allocate the city’s money in the upcoming fiscal year. The final budget is due July 1.