"By promoting financial and ethical responsibility for all elected officials and committing to meaningful change, Citizens Budget Commission has enriched our democratic society and the quality of life for all citizens." State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
In June the New York City Council voted to approve New York City's budget for fiscal year 2011. The Mayor and the City Council should be commended for passing a budget that responsibly deals with difficult financial realities without raising taxes and by achieving recurring savings of over $1 billion in agency spending.
Given the fiscal pressures on the City, what does Mayor Michael Bloomberg plan to do to cut debt service? Debt service, the payment of interest and principle due on long-term borrowing, has been growing rapidly under his tenure. Since it is tied to the size of the capital plan, it can only be controlled by reducing the level of capital investment that is supported with borrowing.
CBC Senior Research Associate Maria Doulis testifies before the City Council Finance Committee on the Executive Budget for fiscal year 2009. With a surplus projected in the current year and a budget balanced for fiscal year 2009, this is a critical opportunity to think about the long-term fiscal challenges facing the City.
CBC comments on Executive Budget for fiscal year 2009 released by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The budget is based on a realistic assessment of the economic problem facing New York City and presents a sound strategy for dealing with it in the coming fiscal year. Key decisions made since the January Financial Plan include: Increasing the Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) from $885 million to $1.3 billion for fiscal year 2009, the retirement of $2 billion of debt, and reducing the future debt service burden through a 20 percent reduction in the capital program.
This letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg states that the Executive Budget is a critical juncture for New York City and for the mayoralty. CBC offers specific recommendations for improving the City’s fiscal health.
CBC releases a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg recommending five fiscal actions that it hopes will be priorities in the final months of the mayor's tenure. The letter commends the Mayor on his notable fiscal achievements to date and defines an agenda for further fiscal reforms – the need for better expenditure control, more disciplined debt policy, and better tax policy.
CBC releases its recommendations for legislative changes to the Executive Budget presented by Governor Eliot Spitzer. The five changes in this statement would make the budget better suited to the current, uncertain economic times, more effective in using precious tax resources to support essential public services, and more supportive of lowered local tax burdens.
CBC analyzes the so-called “uncontrollable” or “non-discretionary” items in the New York City budget. The report – entitled "The Myth of the Uncontrollables” – urges the City to take action on these items, rather than accept them as inevitable cost increases. The report identifies four ways the City should take the lead in pursuing $2.5 billion in annual savings by fiscal year 2009.
For years New York City mayors have bemoaned the fact that much of the budget is “uncontrollable.” Different mayors have used a variety of terms, including “unfunded mandates” and “non-discretionary spending,” to describe these items.
CBC calls on the New York State Senate to defeat a pending resolution, S. 1, which would amend the budget process set out in the New York State Constitution. This bill would only make the State’s notoriously dysfunctional budget process worse.
