New York mayor tells agencies to brace for sweeping cuts.

The New York Times (9/24, B1, Barbaro, Santos) reports,

"With an eye on Wall Street's turmoil and New York City's fragile economy, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg ordered city agencies on Tuesday to cut spending by about $500 million this year and $1 billion next year." The "across the board" cuts include "the Police Department, which must cut costs by $95 million this year, and the school system, which needs to trim $185 million," with an overall budget target cut of 2.5 percent this year and five next. The cuts are "intended to provide a financial cushion should the city's tax revenue, which is heavily dependent on Wall Street's profits, drop further, as many expect," and signal that the Mayor "may be seeking to soften the political fallout of a possible seven percent property tax increase, which he disclosed on Monday." But some expressed fears that the cuts "could undo the progress made by agencies like the Administration for Children's Services, which more than doubled the number of caseworkers assigned to child protective services since 2005.

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