The city’s tottering Off-Track Betting Corp. is shelling out $25,000 a month to a top public-relations firm even as it’s going through bankruptcy, The Post has learned.

The money is going to Edelman Public Relations under a two-year contract that began last November.

David Vermillion, the Edelman vice president overseeing the OTB account, defended the expenditure as “good value” for the struggling betting operation, which has run up debts of $100 million under a revenue-sharing formula mandated by Albany. Vermillion said Edelman communicates with customers, employees, the media and runs a Web site.

Gary Pretlow (D-Westchester), chairman of the Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee and a frequent OTB critic, said, “They’re spending money like they’re making money. They’re not.”

OTB is planning to lay off two-thirds of its 1,300 employees over the next year as it tries to reorganize.