NY to Hire 1,300 Police Officers as Part of $78.5B Budget

New York City is set to hire nearly 1,300 new police officers as part of its $78.5 billion budget agreement, honoring a proposal put forth by the City Council over Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio's initial objections.

The new officers will cost the city $170 million. The costs will be offset by $70 million in overtime savings. About 300 officers will be assigned to counterterrorism.

They will join a force of about 35,000 uniformed officers, the nation's largest.

The deal was made public and sealed with a handshake by de Blasio and Democratic City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito at City Hall late Monday.

"For two years the Council has called for an expanded police force which would allow for more community policing and better interactions," said Mark-Viverito who also stressed a series of new criminal justice reforms as part of the deal.

Besides the cap on overtime, the reforms include a new $1.4 million bail fund for low-level offenders and the Council's ongoing push to reform summons for low-level offenses.

The increased headcount is a major shift for de Blasio, who had been resisting calls to expand the force. It's also a major win for Police Commissioner Bill Bratton who formed a productive relationship with Mark-Viverito and the Council.  

Bratton will announce this week how the new officers fit into an expanded neighborhood policing program.

City libraries also saw their budgets go up by $39 million which is enough to guarantee 6-day service at all libraries and expanded hours at some others. 

For education, the budget includes $18 million to phase in breakfast at all 530 elementary schools by fall of 2017.

Anti-hunger advocates had argued many students were missing out on eating breakfast in the cafeteria because they arrived after the start of school.

But they lost their campaign to get the city to serve free lunch to all students. The mayor said he was sticking with a pilot program, and which only standalone middle schools serve free lunch to all of their kids. He cited the need for more awareness among families.

The city is adding $12.7 million to lengthen the school day at dozens of struggling schools called "renewal schools". This is on top of an additional $30 million the mayor proposed last month.

There is also more money for seniors including $4.3 million to eliminate wait lists to for the Department of Aging's home care program and $2 million to expand the city's elder abuse program.

The final budget, with the additional police officers and their benefits, longer library hours, bail fund, more money for schools and seniors, only amounts to $200 million more than the executive budget in May.

The mayor's office says that's because of efficiencies, like the $70 million in savings per year in the police department, and higher-than-expected revenues. De Blasio called the budget fiscally responsible as well as progressive, noting reserves he set aside in a rainy day fund, retiree health benefits, and capital projects earlier this year remain in tact.

Still, some fiscal watchdogs, who have called on the mayor to save even more for leaner times, said they'll be scrutinizing the details of the spending plan once they become available at adoption.

The council will vote on and the mayor will sign the budget deal later this week. The new fiscal year begins July 1.