Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council agreed on a $59.4 billion budget for the 2010 fiscal year. Besides agreeing on a 0.5% sales tax increase, the city will trim 2,000 (or 1,000) jobs, allow 16 firehouses to remain open, keep libraries open 6 days a week, and "spare 100 animals from being shipped out of the Bronx Zoo." The NY Times reports that Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker hoped that the economy would perk up so next year's budget won't be as severe, but the Mayor added, "If our economy continues to stall, this may not be the last word on this year’s budget." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg unveiled the 2010 fiscal year budget yesterday and acknowledged that that his proposed sales tax hike, which would raise the tax rate to 8.875%, is no fun. During the press conference, he said, "It is true that sales tax, if you have the same rate, is a regressive tax, but the bottom line is, the people that have more money buy a lot more things, and they spend a lot more of it. Is it a good tax? No. None of these taxes are good taxes... I'm not happy about raising any tax." more ›