"It is time to pay them (EMS) a living wage, a salary that allows them to do incredibly life saving work, and provide for their families. The capital budget we have, about half of it is for facility repair, if we were able to get unlimited money for these repairs, we still would not be able to make all of the repairs at once."
"As we start to repair some of these houses, we have to relocate the resources...that leaves areas of our city that don't have coverage. Why is there such a gap, if the money is there, and you have to maintain these houses, why is there such a gap in the timeline when you first get the dangerous report?"
Mayor Zohran Mamdani's proposed $127 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 faces a $5.4 billion deficit, prompting city leaders to implement cost-cutting measures across all agencies. Each agency has appointed a chief savings officer to identify efficiencies. The FDNY, receiving 3% of the city budget ($2.6B), faced intense questioning during oversight hearings regarding spending priorities and operational challenges. Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore highlighted the need for EMS wage increases to provide living wages for life-saving work. Infrastructure concerns dominated discussions, with council members questioning delays in firehouse repairs despite allocated funding. The FDNY acknowledged crumbling facilities and coverage gaps resulting from repair relocations. Additionally, the department is on pace to overspend its overtime budget, having consumed 69% of allocated overtime funds.
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