City Budget Faces Up to $100-Million Shortfall

The city budget may come up $100 million short by the end of the fiscal year, partly because of fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said City Controller Ed Harrington.

Revenue from every tax--except the motor vehicle license fee--that fuels the $5.2-billion budget is expected to decrease.

The loss of jobs means people will lose health insurance and rely more on public hospitals. The welfare caseload also will go up.

Because nearly half the budget is considered discretionary, losing $60 million to $100 million would not cause services to collapse.