NEW YORK, NY July 08, 2009 —Does Albany's legislative gridlock have to necessarily jeopardize public safety? Not really, says the City Council's top bean counter.

REPORTER: Queens councilman David Weprin, chairman of the finance committee, says there's still plenty of fat in the budget.

WEPRIN: We actually don't have the cash flow problem yet, we certainly can go another couple of months. If we don't have any sales tax increase, it will be a much larger deficit, along the lines of $700 million.

REPORTER: Mayor Bloomberg has delayed the hiring of 250 police cadets, 150 firefighters, and others, saying the Senate stalemate is costing the city $60 million a month in a proposed sales tax increase.

Weprin, who's also running for City Comptroller, told WNYC's Brian Lehrer this morning that he'd look first at outside contractors for potential cuts, and not at public safety officers.