Adams is doing right in finding savings now — despite some ugly details

Mayor Eric Adams makes an announcement underneath the tent at Damrosch Park.
ZUMAPRESS.com/ Lev Radin

Kudos to Mayor Eric Adams for shifting well to restrict the municipal payroll as extra unhealthy finances information rolls in.

In his third spherical of finances cuts this yr, Finances Director Jacques Jiha on Monday ordered most metropolis companies to fill not more than half of their present full-time vacancies. (Lecturers and uniformed NYPD and FDNY ranks are exempted.) Meaning about 4,700 openings gained’t be stuffed.

Jiha additionally directed companies to cowl any new initiatives and applications out of their present budgets.

This follows sweeping cuts Adams made on taking workplace in January, plus the three% across-the-board “PEG” cuts he ordered in September.

Powerful drugs, however do-able after Mayor Invoice de Blasio bloated the municipal headcount to a report 337,294, together with his last finances formally hitting  $98.7 billion, up about 34% during the last Bloomberg one, greater than double the inflation price. Plus, Blas spent all of the federal COVID assist he might, and left big out-year deficits that Adams has to cowl.

And now the town faces an estimated $1 billion in added prices because of the migrant disaster, plus a serious ongoing drop in its property-tax take as distant work has companies trimming workplace area. And its tech business is in recession, slamming one of many brightest native enterprise sectors. Worse, Wall Road’s chopping again, too.

In the meantime, the town’s labor contracts are all developing, and each union will need substantial hikes to counter Bidenflation.

And 2023 is prone to carry a nationwide recession, additional slamming the town finances. So Adams is totally proper to start out chopping now to keep away from even worse cuts down the road that would threaten core companies.

All of which makes it . . . awkward that we now have to maintain reporting on varied Adams administration crony hires. The most recent: A longtime pal of the mayor bought tapped for one of many best-paid jobs in metropolis authorities. Lisa White turned NYPD deputy commissioner for worker relations in Could, pulling $241,000 a yr, 5 occasions what she’d earned as a 911 dispatcher earlier than retiring.

Adams is getting the large image proper, however such ugly particulars maintain marring his report.