Mamdani signs executive order creating position to eliminate waste and improve efficiency.
Administration Takes Swift Action on Fiscal Management
Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order establishing the position of Chief Savings Officer in every city agency, directing existing senior employees to immediately begin identifying waste and inefficiency. The order requires agency CSOs to report back to City Hall within 45 days with concrete plans for improving operational efficiency and reducing unnecessary expenditures. Each agency has five days to designate and empower their CSO with necessary staff and data access. The initiative responds directly to the mayor’s announcement of a $12 billion budget deficit and reflects his administration’s commitment to finding solutions through operational reform as well as policy changes.
Strategy Behind the Chief Savings Officers
The mayor framed the initiative as essential to public excellence and respect for taxpayers. He emphasized that delivering public goods requires government that uses every dollar wisely. Rather than immediately pursuing controversial tax increases, the Mamdani administration is first seeking to identify internal efficiencies that could meaningfully contribute to closing the budget gap. The 45-day reporting requirement creates accountability while allowing agencies sufficient time to conduct thorough reviews.
CSO Responsibilities and Authority
Each Chief Savings Officer must be an existing senior agency employee empowered to access budget data and coordinate with other departments. The CSOs will review agency performance, identify redundancies, and recommend organizational improvements. Their reports will likely become politically contentious, as they may recommend consolidations, service reductions, or other changes affecting employees or constituencies. The administration appears ready to accept this controversy as necessary for fiscal responsibility.
Broader Context and Expectations
The executive order came one day after Mamdani announced the deficit and called for tax increases on wealthy residents. By simultaneously pursuing internal efficiency reviews, the administration claims to be taking all deficit-reduction approaches seriously. Governor Hochul’s refusal to support tax increases makes internal efficiencies more politically important to the mayor’s fiscal strategy. For details on the CSO initiative, see ABC7’s reporting on the executive order. The mayor’s approach balances progressive ambition with fiscal realism, a strategy that will define his first months in office.
