New York Times - September 17, 2007 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/nyregion/17bloomberg.html>
Under Bloomberg, Budget and Revenues Swell By DIANE CARDWELL
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has promoted himself as a model of fiscal restraint, issuing dire warnings about the slowing economy, recently asking agencies to limit hiring, and even listing "fiscal responsibility" as an interest on his MySpace page.
At the same time, a review of the city's budget since 1980 shows that Mr. Bloomberg has been presiding over one of the greatest expansions of city government since the John V. Lindsay administration, fueled by an extraordinary surge in real estate revenues, both from higher property taxes and transfer taxes from sales.
Since Mr. Bloomberg took office in 2002, the city budget, adjusted for inflation, has swelled faster than it has under any other mayor during the last 27 years, increasing by 23 percent, to $60 billion.
By contrast, spending rose 8 percent during Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's eight years, and 4 percent under Mayor David N. Dinkins, who served one four-year term. Mr. Bloomberg's spending also outpaced that of Mayor Edward I. Koch, who increased the budget by 19 percent over his last two terms.
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When Mr. Bloomberg took office, he inherited a budget punch-drunk from the aftereffects of 9/11 on an already slowing economy, facing a $5 billion deficit in what was then, in 2002 dollars, a $41 billion budget, including $14 billion from Albany and Washington. The mayor spent his first months in office looking for ways to reduce spending through cutting staff and modestly trimming services, but he increased revenue through borrowing and eventually raising taxes, fines and fees.
"He very deliberately, early on, made the choice that rather than really jamming down services, he was going to hold the service level and raise taxes," said Mark Page, director of the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Bloomberg has also personally contributed tens of millions of dollars to the city, forgoing his salary, paying his own travel expenses, donating to social service and cultural groups whose city grants he trimmed, and supporting projects and experimental programs.
Since then, Mr. Page added, the growth in population and the economy has led to "a major increase in revenue that has enabled us to cut taxes and spend more. Smaller class sizes, dividing up large schools, maintaining parks, cleaning streets, what-have-you are all things that people like and they all cost money."
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