Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday proposed a $102.7 billion spending plan that called for a relatively modest 2% increase over last year's Budget, citing an uncertain economy and mounting expenses from the migrant crisis that are expected to grow to over $1 billion.

The proposal for fiscal year 2024 is a reflection of Adams' priorities as he looks to shape his second year in office. It includes some new investments in Housing and infrastructure, but notably requires no further cuts to city agencies.

Adams has stressed the need for fiscal discipline amid a period of economic uncertainty and signs that the city's recovery may be slowing.

"In order to keep moving forward while preserving the programs and services we value, we must be careful and make the best use of our resources," Adams said during his presentation of the budget at City Hall.

The mayor has faced heavy criticism from the City Council, a more progressive body of government, since rolling out cuts last year that hit schools and libraries. In a sign of the opposition he will face, two council leaders released a statement condemning the budget prior to the mayor's remarks.

"We will not allow our city to be damaged by the undermining of city agencies and services that meet the essential needs of all New Yorkers," said Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Brooklyn Councilmember Justin Brannan, who is the Council's finance chair. "We are committed to delivering for New Yorkers, and we are prepared to fight to realize our vision in this year's budget."

In the same statement, the speaker and Brannan said that the Council would not hold a vote on a proposal by Adams to cut spending, a move that would limit library services, social programs and early childhood education.

But under the City Charter, the mayor's fiscal proposal, also known as a budget modification, will move ahead after 30 days as long as the Council does not vote it down. Budget modifications also typically include new funding.

The two councilmembers expressed outrage over the cuts, but conceded they'll allow them through to ensure that nonprofits that offer abortion and community safety services can remain intact.

"For this reason, we will not vote on the budget modification with an understanding of the negative consequences in all potential options – we will not reject our own support for vital services to New Yorkers," they wrote.

Brad Lander, the city's comptroller, urged the mayor to make more investments in the latest budget to support services used by New Yorkers of all incomes but especially those who are poor, including the public libraries, universal pre-K and CUNY.

Lander has been among those who have criticized the mayor's decision to reduce the city's headcount. In a statement, he said that the "sweeping cuts to vacant positions may come at the cost of hiring in mission-critical functions."

"Responsible budgeting for NYC's future does not mean cutting services that New Yorkers rely on," Lander added.

According to the mayor, the city achieved $3 billion in savings from reducing the headcount, which had ballooned well over 300,000 under his predecessor Bill de Blasio. As of August, the total number of city workers was under 282,000, although the budgeted workforce is projected around 301,000. About 23,000 vacant positions remain unfilled.

The Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscal watchdog group, commended the cost savings achieved by reducing some vacant positions. At the same time, Andrew Rein, its president, said, "While these are positive steps, much more aggressive action is needed to stabilize future budgets, hedge against a looming recession, and improve the quality and efficiency of services. This should not be delayed."

Among the spending initiatives the mayor highlighted was an additional $20 million toward programs for New Yorkers looking to or living in affordable housing, which he said he planned to prioritize this year. The budget also earmarks $259 million toward expediting projects that allow the city to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals under a law passed in 2019.

The city will spend $228 million to pay for "high-priority street reconstruction projects" related to Vision Zero, a plan to dramatically reduce traffic-related deaths.

Another $153 million has been budgeted for the proposed Willets Point redevelopment in Queens, which is slated to feature a soccer stadium, a hotel and 2,500 affordable housing units.

Bronx Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, the housing committee chair, questioned how the budget plan will fuel housing development and access for the lowest-income New Yorkers who face the most dire apartment shortage.

"We need to build more housing that is accessible to the most vulnerable New Yorkers but I'm not yet seeing these priorities reflected in the investments he's highlighting," Sanchez said

Though Adams discussed his commitment to affordable housing production during his budget presentation, he did not mention any plans to add money to fuel that development. The housing plan for long-term projects remains unchanged, according to a review of proposed spending documents by the New York Housing Conference.

Adams has set a goal of building 500,000 new homes in New York City over the next decade, and on the campaign trail pledged to direct $4 billion per year to create and renovate income-restricted apartments. Instead, he added about $5 billion to the capital budget for affordable and public housing last year, bringing the total to around $22 billion over 10 years.

Sanchez said the Council will push for more funding for social services and press Adams to fill staff vacancies at key agencies, like the social services and housing preservation and development agencies.

"The administration has a more conservative view of the fiscal future of the city and I think that is going to play out in the budget hearings," Sanchez said. "We're really focused on protecting the city's social safety net."

The spending plan also faces criticism from the Supportive Housing Network of New York over permanent staff reductions in the housing and services sectors.

"Despite the mayor's claims to the contrary, there is no question that the chronic staffing shortage is delaying services and the approval of units across the five boroughs that vulnerable New Yorkers need," the organization said in a statement.

Some analysts have disagreed with the mayor's bleak fiscal outlook, accusing the administration of failing to recognize the uptick in the most recent revenue numbers. The latest budget was updated to include an additional $2.4 million in revenues. After projections of multibillion-dollar deficits, budget officials say the city is now expected to have a balanced budget over the next two years.

As part of the city's updated forecasts, a $10 billion fiscal deficit projected in 2026 has now been cut in half to $5 billion.

The story has been updated with comments from Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, Citizens Budget Commission, Comptroller Brad Lander and additional comments from Mayor Eric Adams.