Source: New York Post
by Ken Girardin & John Ketcham
“Budgets are usually about choices, but Mayor Mamdani’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal presents Gov. Hochul and state lawmakers with just one: They can sign off on the suite of tax hikes he’s demanded, or he’ll ask the City Council for a painful property tax increase of almost 10%. The mayor has complained — not without some merit — that the Adams administration lowballed expenses. If the city’s finances are truly in ‘crisis’ condition, the appropriate response is triage. But the mayor has yet to administer even basic first aid. The ‘chief spending officers’ he tasked with trimming spending haven’t yet made suggestions, and the phrase ‘hiring freeze’ hasn’t been uttered. Instead, he’s sending property owners to the hospital with a 9.5% property tax hike.” (02/18/26)