Mayor Zohran Mamdani borrowed a page out of texting buddy President Trump’s DOGE playbook Thursday when he ordered a series of bureaucrats to ax overspending in each department.
The Democratic socialist leader signed an executive order directing each city agency to appoint a “Chief Savings Officer” during an on-air appearance on PIX 11 in his latest photo op as his administration scrambles to close a $12 billion budget gap.
“And so that is something I’m here to speak to you about,” he said on PIX 11.
Mayor Mamdani signed an executive order directing each city agency to appoint a “Chief Savings Officer” as his administration scrambles to close a $12 billion budget gap. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
“Is the creation of saving officers within every single agency that will be tasked with assessing the efficacy of programs we have, the efficiencies we currently have or being denied and what steps that we need to take to make the kind of change we need to make.”
The executive order requires each agency to appoint the penny-pinching staffer within five days, and then the employee has 45 days to dig into that department’s spending and possible excess.
But for Hizzoner, the savings scramble comes too little, too late for the new admin, which has to deliver a balanced preliminary budget in 19 days.
Mamdani had been repeatedly pressed during the campaign on how he plans to dole out his billions of dollars of liberal freebies considering the looming budget gaps and potential federal cuts.
On the trail, he would repeatedly say his admin would find savings through better contracting and other streamlined processes — but failed to offer any specifics.
Mamdani borrowed a page out of texting buddy President Trump’s DOGE playbook Thursday when he ordered a series of bureaucrats to ax overspending in each department. AP
He has also called on the state to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers — a move that needs approval from the state government but that Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she won’t do this year. She’s up for re-election in November but hasn’t ruled out future tax hikes.
Meanwhile, Mamdani offered up no details of potential cuts Wednesday weeks after The Post reported on the shortfalls projected in analyses by the city and state comptrollers.
The mayor — who has been on the job for nearly a month — blamed his predecessor, Eric Adams, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the massive money crunch during the press conference.