Cool, cool. How much will it end up costing the City to replace those workers and the tasks they were doing? The need for people and services done isn’t going away. The reason the City first started employing private firms is because the taxpayers wouldn’t have to be on the hook for those salaries, and more importantly, those pensions. Insourcing for the city just shifts the burden from a contract fee now to having to fund another pension in a few years.

I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I like the idea of NYC actually employing people again. It helps build confidence in the city government that it won’t collapse if a single contract negotiation falls through. It means the whole City isn’t held hostage by a private corp that can raise rates whenever it chooses. There’s positives to direct hire. But it will be a bite in the hindquarters when the pensions come due, and the salaries may well exceed the consulting contract.