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New York City is in the midst of a fiscal crisis. Although Mayor de Blasio and the City Council adopted a budget just 75 days ago, the mayor reports that some of the promised savings will not happen. He warns that if the Legislature does not let him borrow billions, the city will have to lay off 22,000 workers.

This is a false choice. Available strategies can eliminate the need now to borrow or lay off workers — both of which have such negative impacts that they should be last resorts. If borrowing does become justified, authorization should come with significant conditions and oversight.

First, commissioners should comb their agencies to increase efficiency of city services, or reduce spending on lower priorities. The mayor has not called for any additional agency savings since the budget was adopted, and no savings were identified to fulfill even part of the $1 billion of labor savings committed to in the budget.

Second, use attrition; a stricter hiring freeze could reduce the workforce by 7,000 employees a year, while still allowing the city to fill two-thirds of its vacancies.

Third, reinvigorate the successful labor-management committee the administration established in 2014 to reduce health insurance spending. Unlike state and private sector employees, city workers and retirees pay zero health insurance premiums. Even a contribution lower than what state employees pay could save hundreds of millions of dollars.

Would these be austerity measures? Not when you consider the current city budget, adjusted for inflation, is actually $2 billion higher than what the city spent in 2018. And the city has around 14,000 more workers now than the highest point before the last recession.

Yes, this kind of rigorous management and labor partnership is hard work. But borrowing is expensive and can make problems worse, not better. If the city borrows to prop up spending it can’t afford, it will only provide illusory stability while letting leaders off the hook from assertively managing city finances.

Simple rule: Don’t rent a bigger apartment just because your credit card limit was upped. This can lead to a vicious cycle of borrowing again and again. The city also would have to repay the debt over time — borrow $5 billion, pay back $7 billion— and make future New Yorkers pay for today’s services instead of using their money for their needs.

Still, further financial risks come from all directions. If the economy is weaker than expected, tax revenue will be lower. Spending for regular services in COVID-19 times may be higher and not reimbursed by the feds. Costs for running the less dense, blended-learning school system could easily be higher than anticipated. Finally, the state’s budget struggles will likely mean lower than expected state aid.

If these threats materialize and are significant, limited borrowing to address new revenue shortfalls could be reasonable. However, borrowing should not absolve city leaders of making hard choices, and should come with strict conditions and oversight.

The city should have to produce and implement a multiyear plan that will lead to fiscal stability. This starts with implementing the savings included in this year’s budget and additional savings of an equal or greater amount in the future. It should then include specific additional actions that will substitute for the borrowed funds — making them a bridge and not a means to prop up unaffordable spending.

Second, the Financial Control Board, which actively managed and then monitored the city during its fiscal distress in the 1970s and 1980s, should have to certify and oversee the plan and borrowing, reestablishing a control period. The Board should review and approve major city fiscal actions and any debt issuances.

Borrowing for operations can become a slippery slope to near bankruptcy; this was New York City’s experience in the 1970s. With questions looming about whether people will continue to want to live and work here, a real threat to the tax base, ensuring the city’s finances are well managed is more important than ever.