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Press Release
Pensions & Benefits
Report Reveals Benefit to Teachers Costs NYC Taxpayers $1.2 Billion Annually
Teachers Guaranteed a 7 Percent Return on Deferred Compensation Investments
October 05, 2016
Like many public and private sector workers, New York City teachers can contribute to a voluntary tax-deferred compensation plan. However the teachers’ plan is unique in its guarantee of a fixed rate of return. Taxpayers are making up the difference at an annual cost of $1.2 billion.
Press Release
Economic Development
CBC Releases Scorecard Assessing the NYC Metro Area's Competitiveness
Scorecard Compares the NYC Region with the Nation’s 14 Other Largest Metropolitan Areas
September 28, 2016
The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) today released its 2016 Competitiveness Scorecard, which assesses the competitiveness of the New York City metropolitan area (NYC metro) in attracting and retaining highly educated talent.
Video
Transportation
Proposed Changes to the MTAs Pricey Access-A-Ride Program Could Improve Service
NY1
September 20, 2016
About 150,000 disabled New Yorkers use the MTA's pricey Access-A-Ride service to get around the city each day. Two new studies are proposing ways to dramatically improve service and save taxpayers more than $100 million a year.
Op Ed
City Budget
The “20-20-20-20” Dilemma
The Need to Curtail New York City’s Legacy Costs
August 03, 2016
A giant and rapidly growing slice of the New York City budget pays for "legacy costs" - pensions, retiree health benefits, and debt service - which already exceed 20 percent of the budget and will expand by 20 percent to more than $20 billion in annual spending by fiscal year 2020. But the City can take steps to deal with it.
Op Ed
City Budget
The Rapidly Rising Cost of City Workers
New York City Employees Get $138,000 in Pay and Benefits, and Rising
June 09, 2016
The mayor and City Council quickly came to an agreement on the details of an adopted budget for fiscal year 2017, but little attention has been paid to spending projected over the course of the five-year financial plan. We ought to focus, and hold onto our wallets.
Op Ed
City Budget
Make NYC’s Retiree Health Benefit Trust More Trustworthy
May 25, 2016
The City of New York has a $70 billion liability for retiree health insurance costs and other post-employment benefits (OPEB), not including pensions. These benefits are contractually owed to retired city employees and are largely unfunded.
Op Ed
State Budget
What Will Be The Long-Term Impact Of The State Budget Agreement?
April 03, 2016
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget projected out-year deficits of $1.2 billion, $3 billion and $3.4 billion in state fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020 (before unspecified savings associated with adherence to a 2 percent state operating spending growth cap).
Video
Transportation
MTA: More Subway Tubes Flooded During Sandy Likely Need Repairs
NY1
September 17, 2013
The head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority warns that subway tubes flooded during Hurricane Sandy likely still need repairs on equipment damaged by saltwater.
Op Ed
Pensions & Benefits
Reining in New York City's Skyrocketing Health Insurance Costs
April 17, 2013
The City's employee unions, whose contracts have expired, may prefer to wait and negotiate with the next mayor, but the election won't change the fiscal reality: the City's share of health insurance premiums for city workers and retirees is high in comparison to norms in the private and public sectors.
Op Ed
Public Workforce
City Workers, Pay Your Share
February 03, 2013
The cost of health insurance for New York City public employees and retirees is projected to grow by almost 40% by 2016 — rising to nearly $7 billion a year. That growth will amount to $1.5 billion of the $1.9 billion budget deficit projected for 2016.
Op Ed
State Budget
More Bang For NY's Buck
December 27, 2011
As Governor Cuomo prepares his executive budget, he should seek structral changes that slow down the state's most potent cost-drivers (pensions, school aid and Medicaid), halt additional economic development spending and steer clear of budget tricks. Senior Research Associate Tammy Gamerman pens an op-ed for the New York Post.
Op Ed
Capital Spending
Think Small to Think Big
July 10, 2011
In the July 2011 edition of the PPP Journal, Senior Research Associate Maria Doulis reviews the success of public-private partnerships in NYC and considers opportunities for pursuing additional PPPs.
Op Ed
State Budget
Improving New York's Fiscal Report Card Further
June 27, 2011
CBC President Carol Kellermann pens an op-ed congratulating the Governor and State Legislature on a productive session, but says more needs to be done on fiscal matters.
Op Ed
Pensions & Benefits
Pension Proposal: A Fiscal Remedy for New York
June 16, 2011
CBC President Carol Kellermann explains the need for pension reform in New York and why Governor Cuomo’s plan puts the State and the City on the road to good fiscal health.
Op Ed
Pensions & Benefits
NYC's Choice
June 05, 2011
Amid its budget crisis, the city is on track to lay off teachers, close fire companies, cut social services and impose other sacrifices. Yet such reductions could be avoided if the city reformed its unusually costly commitments for retiree health insurance and brought them in line with those of other public-sector employers.
Op Ed
Transportation
MTA Bus Service: Lots of Passengers, Limited Efficiency
May 17, 2011
CBC Executive Vice President and Director of Research Chuck Brecher pens an op-ed on our recent report comparing the MTA's unit costs with other large urban transit agencies in the United States.
Op Ed
State Budget
Filling in Cuomo's Budget Blanks
February 05, 2011
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive budget released last Tuesday was a welcome change. Breaking with past practice in Albany, he proposed closing the state's budget gap with $9 billion worth of serious belt-tightening.
Op Ed
Transportation
The MTA: Who'll Pay?
December 02, 2008
This op-ed by CBC President Carol Kellermann and Research Director Charles Brecher proposes the most equitable division of responsibility for mass transit in the metro area. CBC believes that the appropriate balance among riders, car and truck drivers, and the general public (in the form of tax subsidies) is about 50/25/25.
Op Ed
State Budget
Budget Busters
August 18, 2008
CBC President Carol Kellermann discusses Governor David Paterson's offer of a menu of more than $1 billion in savings proposals from which he challenged legislators to select $600 million worth when they convened in Albany for a special session.
Op Ed
Pensions & Benefits
Paterson Must Veto Pocket-Picking Mandate
June 26, 2008
The Legislature recently passed a bill -- A9393A/S6457A -- that would prevent local officials from achieving savings in the skyrocketing cost of providing health insurance for government retirees and their dependents by prohibiting any reduction in benefits.