NEW YORK (AP) -- Two weeks after Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was canceling homeowners' $400 tax rebate checks, the mayor has conceded that he may not have the authority to make such a move.
Bloomberg had proposed canceling the checks as a way of saving $256 million. But the city's top budget official admitted Monday that the mayor would not be able to rescind the property tax rebates without City Council approval.
``That's an issue that we've looked at more carefully since the mayor's statement,'' Budget Director Mark Page said at a Council Finance Committee hearing.
Bloomberg himself backed off from the idea while speaking to reporters in Washington, where he was meeting with members of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team.
``It's probably up in the air,'' said Bloomberg. ``Look at it this way: If we don't do that, we're going to have to cut another quarter of a billion dollars out of our expenses.''
The rebates, which have wide Council support, originally were to be mailed last month to more than 600,000 homeowners.
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