article_snippet.sent: The idea has been endorsed by union leaders who said The idea would reduce pressure on existing officers to keep crime low.
article_snippet.sent: But De Blasio's rejected an identical council proposal a year ago, pointing to the city's record low crime and suggesting that the money would be better spent elsewhere.
article_snippet.sent: Police Commissioner William Bratton has, at times, signaled support for the effort to hire more officers for the department, which now has a headcount of about 34,500, about 6,000 fewer than at its peak in 2001.
article_snippet.sent: De Blasio's has not committed to hiring more officers but has been more receptive to an identical council proposal than De Blasio's was a year ago.
article_snippet.sent: The council's budget office projected that hiring two new classes of officers, to total 1,000, would cost nearly $69m in the upcoming fiscal year.
article_snippet.sent: But The council believes that the cost will be offset by the corresponding reduction in overtime.
article_snippet.sent: The mayor is expected to offer a counter-proposal next month and a budget deal must be completed by the end of June.