When Mayor Eric Adams’ Administration directed City agencies to implement a PEG (Program to Eliminate the Gap) last week, many were concerned about the potential service impact since the Administration had already implemented three savings plans. The Citizens Budget Commission's (CBC) new blog, 7 Facts about the Adams Administration’s Prior Savings Plans, finds that:

1. The Adams Administration has implemented two PEGS—in February 2022 and November 2022—and one vacancy reduction plan in January 2023;
2. Combined, these three plans reduce ongoing budgeted spending approximately $3.0 billion annually, equal to 3.4 percent of the total budget and 4.7 percent of the City-funded budget, excluding Medicaid, Public Assistance, and pensions;  
3.  At least 92 percent of these plans’ recurring impact will not affect expected programmatic spending; 
   1. 39 percent is from re-estimating program costs or shifting costs to other payers; 
   2. 26 percent is from eliminating vacant positions; 
   3. 9 percent comes from debt service savings; 
   4. 3 percent is from new City revenues;  
   5. 9 percent is illusory as gap closing, since the budget simultaneously adds and claims credit for reducing the same spending; and 
   6. 6 percent is from efficiencies designed to reduce costs without reducing services;
4. Approximately 8 percent of the savings is from reductions that potentially affects programs;  
5. Reductions that potentially affect programs equal 0.3 percent of the total budget and 0.4 percent of the City-funded budget, excluding the costs of Medicaid, Public Assistance, and pension contributions; 
6. Cumulatively, these plans eliminated 11,386 vacant full-time positions; and 
7. The City still has nearly 23,000 vacant full-time positions, plus additional part-time vacancies.