Mayor Eric Adams released his formal proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 on April 26. City agencies involved in pandemic response have a smaller total pool of funding compared to last year now that Federal relief funding no longer available. However, the proposed budget includes $1.3 billion in new capital funding for health- and hospital-related operations, including $285 million for a new public health laboratory and $55 million to expand the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD). The B-HEARD program sends mental health professionals rather than police to respond to mental health incidents. The Mayor plans to expand the program to high-need neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens and new areas in the South Bronx.
The City Council will hold numerous hearings through May and June to examine the proposed budget. The Committee on Hospitals chaired by Mercedes Narcisse (D-Brooklyn), the Committee on Health chaired by Lynn Schulman (D-Queens), and the Committee on Mental Health, Disability and Addictions chaired by Linda Lee (D-Queens) will hold hearings on May 18. The City Council and the Mayor must agree on a final budget before July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.