Steve
[note the austerity of the Dinkins years - by this pure spending measure, the same as Rudy]
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.
-- Stephen Philion http://stephenphilion.efoliomn2.com/