Deal Reached On $92B 2020 Budget For NYC

NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council have agreed on a $92.8 billion city budget for the 2020 fiscal year that will put more social workers in public schools and bolster the city's reserves.

De Blasio and Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced the handshake deal Friday, about two weeks ahead of the July 1 budget deadline and after weeks of negotiations.

"We have a budget. The budget is balanced. It is progressive. And it’s early," the Democratic mayor said at a City Hall news conference.

The agreement includes support for several Council priorities, including a total of 285 new social workers for city schools, a $250 million boost for the city's reserve funds and a $33 million investment in libraries, city officials said.

As part of the deal, the de Blasio administration also committed to establishing pay parity for teachers in the city's universal pre-kindergarten program, one of the mayor's signature initiatives.

But officials did not reveal how much that would cost because of ongoing labor negotiations. "We are literally at the negotiating table now, today, and we are committed to resolving the specifics early this summer," de Blasio said.

The budget similarly includes a commitment, but no hard funding, to address pay issues among lawyers serving poor New Yorkers. The de Blasio administration has agreed to pay public defenders and civil legal-services providers on par with the city Law Department over the next four years starting in the 2020 fiscal year, according to draft budget language confirmed by City Hall.

There's also $250,000 in the deal for abortion services, making the city the nation's first to directly fund them. The money will reportedly go to the New York Abortion Access Fund, an organization that helps people obtain abortions when they cannot afford them.

The budget will increase the city's General Reserve fund by $150 million to $1.15 billion and add $100 million to the Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund for a total of $4.57 million, giving the city its highest reserves ever, de Blasio said.

The reserve boost was an outright win for the Council, which called for the extra money in April. The chamber also scored victories with the guarantee of more social workers, library funding and another $43 million for city parks.

"I grew up in a family that struggled," Johnson said. "If I wanted a book we went to the library. If I wanted to play outside we went to the park. If I needed help it came from a school guidance counselor. ... This budget is going to help so many New Yorkers by supporting libraries and schools and parks."

Reaching a deal takes one major task off of de Blasio’s plate two weeks ahead of his appearance in the first Democratic presidential debate.

The mayor launched his White House campaign in the heat of budget season last month. As he jetted off to key primary states such as Iowa and South Carolina, Council members aggressively pushed for their budget priorities.

De Blasio and Johnson nonetheless spoke glowingly of each other on Friday, saying their budget talks were honest and productive.

"They have been characterized by real collegiality, mutual respect, purposefulness," de Blasio said. "... The speaker knows what he believes in and fights hard for it and has had a very clear substantive agenda from the beginning of this process, and I think the outcome shows the impact of having such a clear agenda."