N.Y.C. Mayor proposes bond issue to finance growing deficit.

• Position: News Briefs

Confronting a fiscal 2003 deficit of $4.8 billion, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed a $1.5 billion bond sale to finance city operations. The mayor's budget balancing strategy also includes $1.8 billion in spending cuts and $800 million in federal and state aid. Plans for reducing spending include shrinking the city's police force by 1,600 officers through attrition. In announcing his plan, the mayor emphasized that deficit financing was a one-time event necessitated by the...