By Adam Kramer
After the Queens Democratic delegation to the City Council voted as a block for City Council Speaker Gifford Miller (D-Manhattan), City Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis) was picked to head the body’s Finance Committee in a widely anticipated move.
The chairmanship of the Finance Committee is considered one of the most powerful positions in the City Council behind the speaker, and Queens’ unanimous support for Miller made Weprin a front-runner for the slot.
Weprin, who replaced former City Councilman Sheldon Leffler (D-Hollis), was a logical choice for the position. He had served as the deputy superintendent of banking under former Gov. Mario Cuomo and spent 13 years on Wall Street specializing in municipal finance.
“I am excited to get elected,” Weprin said. “My financial background, particularly in municipal finance, will help as the Council goes through this budget cycle.”
Even though the speaker appoints committee heads, the whole City Council votes to approve the chairmen of the committees.
He said the city can expect a deficit of between $3 billion and $4 billion for the fiscal 2002 and 2003 budgets. Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s budget was scheduled to be presented to the Council in the second week of February and then the Council has until July 1 to approve it.
With the looming budget deficit caused by the Sept. 11 attack, Weprin said he was not in favor of making blanket budget cuts of 25 percent because some agencies can afford to trim excess while others cannot.
“Until I see the numbers my guess it is not going to be strictly across-the-board cuts,” he said. “We will decide to add or subtract in different places in conjunction with a financial analysis.”
There are a number of things the Council can do to help alleviate the deficit, he said. The Finance Committee is looking into issuing a municipal bond, reinstalling the commuter tax and making cuts in agencies where there is a lot of waste.
Weprin suggested the budget shortfall could be lessened by the commuter tax, which could bring in about $580 million each year, but said he does not see it being put back into place during this election year.
The commuter tax — a levy on out-of-state residents who worked in New York City — was eliminated July 1, 1999.
Even though he does not agree with mayor’s plan to remove the Board of Education, Weprin said there is waste that can be eliminated. He also is in favor of putting civilians into police precincts to handle non-essential jobs now being performed by police officers. He said it would “save money and put more cops on the beat.”
Traditionally the budget battle between the previous Council and the mayor is similar to little spats between husbands and wives. The mayor makes minor cuts in programs like the parks and libraries, then the Council fights to get the money restored.
In the end, the old Council never had a significant effect on the city’s budget. Weprin said he and his fellow members plan on having more of a say in the city’s budget.
“The mayor has made it clear that he wants to work with the City Council,” he said. The committee will try to influence the budget that gets passed “instead of playing the games of the past,” he said.
Some of Bloomberg’s staff used to work with the Council and have a close relationship with the governmental body, which Weprin said will work to the Council’s advantage. They are the former director of the Council’s Finance Division, Haeda Mihaltses, and Mark Shaw, who held the post before Mihaltses.
Weprin pointed out that the Council has started off having a better relationship with the mayor’s office then under the Giuliani administration. As a sign of the Bloomberg administration’s openness, the mayor has set up his office in the midst of many aides in a large area without walls.
“Walking into the mayor’s bullpen is no problem, which is unusual,” Weprin said. “You can go in and chat. I don’t think we will have the same games as in the past.”
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
