It is now more than 45 days since the man who wasn’t suppose to be Mayor was sworn into office. The events of Sept. 11 made one part of his future agenda abundantly clear . . . he had to not only rebuild a fractured city, he had to find a way to pay for it.

Part of that money will have to come from an influx of people, their businesses and the money they spend to operate those businesses and to play when they need to get away from them from time to time.

Finding four and a half billion dollars is no small task. Almost certainly it will mean that services provided to the citizens of our City will be curtailed and maybe, in some cases, eliminated.

Usually when that happens, you know who gets it first. 

That many economically, politically, socially and educationally marginal communities in the City just also happen to be communities of color doesn’t escape most of the people who live in them.  It may, however, get missed by those who do not live there . . .  our billionaire governmental CEO Mayor not withstanding. Remember, this is the same guy who doesn’t want to live in Gracie Mansion.

While getting zapped by the belt tightening that’s sure to come is something our local City and State elected officials should be mindful of, what is of more concern to me is another factor, which is also on the minds of other political watchers, as well.   It is the thought that other than number crunching and bean counting, this Mayor has no broader agenda — and thus no broader plan for New York City.

It reminds me somewhat of the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike who watched sort of helplessly as other holes sprung leaks around him.  His original idea was noble enough: stop the leak that threatens the town and get praise from the people who walk by.  But of course, the bigger question that comes from those who are a little less the fairy tale ending types is, “Ah, what will you do little boy if the dam begins to fall around your head?”

Mr. Bloomberg, while attempting to-cut seven to 20 percent from his various agencies, has yet to meet with them regarding how they will spend the money they will be allowed to keep.

On education, children’s services, roads, and the list goes on and on.  Unlike his predecessor, there is no Bloomberg doctrine so far. Those last two words . . .“so far” . . . are ones that leave us with hope that the Mayor is only trying to get one thing off of his plate at a time.

Note to newcomer City Council members: the ability to walk and chew gum at the same time is required to excel in government. 

Second memo to newcomer City Council members:  Do not stand around watching the boy with his finger in the dike wondering what you should do.  

Those of you who ran in our districts did so on platforms and ideas.  Don’t let those also become the victims of Sept. 11 . . .that could also put you in a position of uncertainty and indecision. 

I believe a bad plan is actually better than no plan. Why? Because with a bad plan at least the action of implementing it exposes its flaws, and corrective measures can be taken. “No plan” means atrophy to me, a sort of wasting away, hoping things don’t get worse . . . but they usually do.

The boy should have gone to tell someone the damn dam was leaking and people could have left town, gotten an engineer to look at the hole . . . any number of things besides putting a finger in it.

I’ve told you before, there would be a mad grab for the bacon when this new body was sworn in, since just about everyone was inexperienced.  Well the bacon – that is I mean services and the money to pay for them – is a lot less now.  Anyone who has ever played “steal the bacon” as a child knows . . . it is not always speed or strength that wins the day. Many times it’s simply the action.