New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Bill de BlasioDe Blasio to furlough himself, 494 other staff members amid financial crunch: report The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Trump's West Coast campaign swing NY cancels traditional Macy's Thanksgiving parade, will hold virtual event MORE (D) will furlough himself and hundreds of other city employees for a week as the government looks to tighten its budget amid shortfalls resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. De Blasio's policy is expected to impact nearly 500 mayoral staff members, according to The New York Times, and yield $860,000 in savings this year. ADVERTISEMENTThe head of New York's Citizens Budget Commission said the move to cut the pay or positions of mayoral staff is long overdue. During the first five months of the pandemic, the city lost more than 1 million jobs, only half of which city budget officials estimate the area will gain back as local government goes through the reopening process. Earlier this summer, de Blasio announced steep cuts to the city's police department budget, slashing the NYPD by $1 billion amid nationwide calls for police reform.

Source: The Local September 16, 2020 14:26 UTC