Bloomberg Budget: Pensions a 'Ticking Time Bomb'

At his presentation of the his budget proposals for the remaining fiscal year and for Fiscal Year 2013, Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned of the increasing cost of the pension system that, as he said, is in dire need of reform.

Right now, our pension system is fairly described as a ticking time bomb, he said during the presentation.

The mayor, highlighting the fact that the pension system now costs the city more than the uniformed forces' salaries, called for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to reform the growing pension system.

In the budget proposal, salaries of the uniformed forces--police, firefighters, sanitation and correction - decreased from $7.617 billion this fiscal year to $7.468 billion next year. Meanwhile, the benefits and pensions--which include health care, Medicaid and debt service--increased by $2 billion, totaling $7.63 billion for next year.

While the $68.7 billion proposal lacks the features of many of the mayor's previous controversial budget proposals, like the layoffs of more teachers, police officers and firefighters, it did call for a reduction to the city's work force. The budget also calls for cuts to libraries, childcare programs and fire companies.

Critics of the budget, including many of the 2013 mayoral hopefuls, are calling out the mayor for his cuts to children's programs, saying it would harm the children of New York and put greater strain on the city's families.

The mayor and City Council have until June to pass the budget, which will go into effect in July.