NYC to cut 2,000 jobs, mostly by attrition

NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council agreed on a $63 billion budget that cuts at least 2,000 jobs but won't increase taxes, officials said.

The deal reached Thursday includes cuts in a number of city services, including the elimination of some senior centers and day care programs, and fewer dollars for education and adult literacy programs, The New York Times reported Friday.

Most of the workforce reductions would be achieved through attrition, officials said. The City Council is expected to meet next week to formally approve the budget, which would be effective July 1.

Overall, spending would rise by $3.6 billion, about 6 percent, compared with the budget approved last year because of increased pension and healthcare costs, officials said.

Twenty fire companies scheduled to be closed were spared, saving about 400 firefighter jobs at a cost of $37 million, the Times said. Also spared were the city's child-protection agency caseworker workforce and the city's swimming pools.

"We faced up to our responsibilities as well as to financial realities," Bloomberg said after reaching the agreement. "Make no mistake about it: These cuts are real. Pain, yes. Serious damage, no."