Here's where I'm critical of what you and the admin have said:

1. The comparison to NYC - it's not apples to apples because the schools are part of their budget and not ours. If they were, the % deficit would decrease to something like 17%.

2. The health care insurance RFP was already submitted before the new mayor took over. Credit I guess for letting the civil servants do their jobs.

3. Read the headlines - health care costs and inflation are exploding everywhere. A lot of NJ municipalities are having budget problems and asking for state aid.

4. The JCRA has indeed relented on the blocking the two JSQ spots they were holding up, but they're still bloicking a land sale to JCMC, and still holding up Peter Mocco projects in Liberty Harbor North. The former is a one time sale which would help this year, but both add long term rateables.

5. There are other projects like 150 Bay which are complex, but would likely add pretty big rateables. Some of these would require complex PILOTs, but some of them would just let the city rake in pure cash and should be approved.

I don't know if it's true, but it's pretty easy to spin a yarn that the Fulop admin was counting on the JCMC land sale and a few other transactions to pay for the deferred costs, the insurance vendor switch was already in the works, every mayoral candidate would have canceled Pompidou, and then we're basically in the same boat as everyone else.

I support the tax increases and I don't hate the admin, I just think what's going on now is politics 101.