On Wednesday, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer unveiled a comprehensive housing plan which aims to ease the city’s housing shortage and prevent homelessness by creating affordable housing for low and middle-income families. In his fairly ambitious plan, Stringer proposes making 25% of all new construction developments – with ten units or more – affordable for low-income families. It also calls for turning the city’s vacant lots into low-cost housing, ending the 421a tax break and expanding programs that can help increase homeownership.

“We need to fundamentally change the bargain between the city and the real estate industry,” Stringer said while unveiling his plan at a press conference, Wednesday. “We can’t keep spending billions and billions getting so little affordability in return.”

The comptroller, who is running for mayor in 2021, also took a couple of jabs at Mayor Bill de Blasio’s housing policies during his conference, alleging that he hasn’t created enough affordable housing and criticizing his botched rezoning efforts.

Some more conservative critics find it difficult to see how this would be feasible.“The inequities of the property tax system are such that it is nearly impossible to build rental buildings because of the tax rates,” Sean Campion, Citizens Budget Commission analyst, told the Post.

A long-awaited report from the city’s Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform was released Thursday, outlining recommendations for potentially drastic changes to the way residential properties are taxed across the five boroughs.

The report, which contains ten recommendations to update and add equity to New York’s vast property tax system, comes after months of delay and almost a year after the commission, created by Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, completed its mandated public hearings.

One of the most significant proposals is adjustments to the property tax classifications, which would change the methodology for assessing the value of co-ops and condos, which include high-value units that are often taxed on a fraction of what they would be if they were classified as small homes.

Under the current classifications, set by state law, small homes are assessed on their sales value, while co-ops and condos are categorized with large rental buildings and are assessed on the gross annual income they would receive if rented. The commission proposes bringing co-ops and condos, along with small rentals (fewer than 10 units) into the same class as small one- to three-family homes, to be assessed on sales price and taxed on 100 percent of the market value.

Another major proposal is changes to assessment caps, which limit the amount property taxes for homeowners can grow over a one- or five-year period. Because of the cap, property taxes on homes in rapidly appreciating neighborhoods can rise slower than their market values. As a result, homeowners in more economically-stagnant areas of the city end up paying a greater percentage of their property’s value in real estate taxes. A 2018 analysis by Citizens Budget Commission showed that homes in the Bronx and Staten Island had larger tax burdens than comparable properties in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.

Phoenix has some of the best weather in the country, and it is often said that it's affordable to live in the Valley. However, the city has just found its way to the top of one unexpected list.

According to a study by the advocacy group Citizens Budget Commission, Phoenix is the most expensive city in the country to live and drive.

It says while other large cities, like New York City or Washington D.C., have the highest costs for housing and transportation, residents there also have a higher median income than Phoenix residents do.

Albany chatter in anticipation of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2020 State of the State message was dominated by the prospect of a $6.1 billion budget gap. How to fill it? Tax? Cut programs? All unpalatable.

Of course, budget gaps are nothing new. In an opinion essay published in the Rochester Beacon just three days before the governor spoke, his Budget Director Robert Mujica pointed out that annual “baseline gaps” are routinely closed by controlling spending growth. “Last year,” Mujica wrote, “the baseline gap we closed was $5.3 billion; in recent years it has ranged from $3 billion to $4 billion.”

There is another way to cut the Gordian Knot. It is precisely to incentivize efficiency and accountability that reformers have long advocated full state government assumption of responsibility for the Medicaid program. For example, the Citizens Budget Commission wrote in a 2018 report: “It is time for New York to adopt measures that will completely eliminate the required local share of Medicaid.” This very good idea would achieve precisely what the governor is advocating.

Where would the money come from? In many jurisdictions increased sales tax authority was authorized for localities to pay for Medicaid. With no Medicaid obligation to meet, New York City and the counties could be required to relinquish some of this resource.

A new measure being proposed Friday in Albany will provide some much needed relief for city property owners and renters.

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Bay Ridge) is pitching a “circuit breaker” bill to provide property tax relief to low- and middle-income homeowners and renters in the five boroughs after a similar measure expired at the start of the year.

f a homeowner making under $100,000 a year pays more than 2% of their income in property tax they would receive 15% of what they paid back. The return drops to 10% and 5% for those making more.

Consistent with the preexisting NYC tax credit, incomes above $200,000 are not eligible for the circuit breaker.

Fiscal watchdogs such as the Citizens Budget Commission have championed “circuit breakers” among other property tax reforms.

The Citizens Budget Commission has released its assessment of the proposal. It characterizes the Medicated Redesign Team as a “prudent course of action,” albeit one that “leaves a significant component of the budget unknown.”

Mayor de Blasio last Thursday released a $95.3 billion executive budget proposal for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.

The figure would represent a $2.5 billion increase over the budget approved by the mayor and City Council last June, or nearly 3 percent.

The increase comes even as de Blasio, in an accompanying statement, warned that the state, facing massive deficits, may be looking to pass off costs to municipalities and counties, particularly for Medicaid.

In a press release issued Thursday afternoon, Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein gave de Blasio’s proposal a mixed review.



“The budget presented today holds the line on new spending programs, which is a welcome and positive change,” Rein said. “However, it misses the opportunity to further improve the City’s preparedness for looming risks — including potential cuts in State aid or weaknesses in the economy.”



Rein wrote that after growing more than 6 percent annually in fiscal years 2018 and 2019, city-funded spending growth is projected to slow to 4 percent in fiscal year 2020 and 1.7 percent in fiscal year 2021.

“There are no new spending programs presented, and the citywide savings plan is estimated to generate enough savings to offset agency expense increases, which are both positive developments,” he said. “Nevertheless, the fiscal year 2021 savings amount to only 0.4 percent of city-funded expenditures; greater agency efforts are needed to increase efficiency.”

Rein also pointed out that in November New Yorkers voted resoundingly for the creation of a Rainy Day Fund, “yet this budget does not include any additional contributions to reserves the City already has.”

Want to close a budget deficit? Grow by a slower rate than you had previously hoped for.

That's one of the main ways Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing to shrink New York’s projected $6 billion gap: increasing the 2020 budget by only 1.9 percent for next year, rather than the much rosier five percent that is a frequent starting point for budget season.

As enrollment climbed, spending began to outpace the money allocated to Medicaid, resulting in a $1.7 billion deficit last year, which budget officials shifted into the current year. And now the administration plans to make that calendar shift a permanent feature.

"You don't save money by paying your December rent in January," said Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission. "The bigger issue is -- do you solve the problem now, when the economy is good, or do you leave it to solve until after the economy turns bad?"
In his budget address at the Egg performance center in Albany on Tuesday, Cuomo also proposed paring Medicaid costs by $2.5 billion -- out of about $25 billion in annual costs -- without causing any pain. He announced a new commission to figure out how.

The Citizens Budget Commission released a detailed response Wednesday to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s 2020-21 executive budget. They commend the governor for restraining spending, but scold him for the state’s three-card-monte approach to delaying Medicaid payments into the following fiscal year.

“The New York State Fiscal Year 2021 Executive Budget closed significant fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021 budget gaps without new taxes by recognizing higher revenues, restraining agency spending, counting on yet-to-be-determined Medicaid spending reductions, cutting local assistance, and continuing an unsound $1.7 billion Medicaid payment delay. While the Budget introduces some significant proposals, some important details are still unsettled and others require additional explanation and analysis.

The Governor’s decision to reconvene the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) to find $2.5 billion in savings is a prudent step to restore spending discipline and to bring Medicaid spending back in line with the State’s Global Cap. While a prudent course of action, it leaves a significant component of the budget unknown. The MRT will issue its recommendations by April 1. Both the savings target and the ambitious timeline make the MRT’s work extremely challenging; however, both are necessary and should be aggressively pursued. Ultimately, the MRT should recommend additional savings to eliminate the annual payment deferral.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to tackle the state’s budget gap by controlling spending instead of with major revenue increases.

Cuomo released his $178 billion 2021 fiscal year budget proposal Tuesday amid the Empire State grappling with a $6.1 billion shortfall tied largely to a $4 billion increase in Medicaid costs. The Democratic governor, who reiterated his previous opposition to tax increases as a solution to state’s budget challenges, told lawmakers Tuesday that cost-saving measures without gimmicks is a better path forward.

Ahead of Cuomo's speech, the Office of the State Comptroller reported that 2020 fiscal year tax revenues from April 1 through Dec. 31 came in $1.3 billion above state projections. Despite the unexpected revenue boost, David Friedfel, director of state studies for the independent Citizens Budget Commission, said taxes are not the answer to the Medicaid predicament and the state needs long-term fixes that involve more spending discipline.

“Spending has outpaced revenues and even what they expected to spend,” Friedfel said. “Revenues are not going to be enough to close the gap and they need to control spending.”

NYATEP's Executive Director Melinda Mack catches up with David Friedfel, Director of State Studies at the Citizens Budget Commission at the NYS Capitol.

During Monday’s conference call about census funding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was asked an off-topic question about Medicaid.

The reporter asked if he intended, in any way, to increase the local share that counties pay toward Medicaid.

While the governor wouldn’t tip his hand, he did make a distinction between a budget gap and a deficit. When you have a deficit, he said, you have to moderate expectations against projected growth.

With that said, here are five questions that I have about today’s budget address:



1. How does the governor intend to deal with the $6 billion deficit? While he may not have to ring $6 billion dollars out of the budget, he will need to make some tough decisions, especially if he’s not going to raise revenue (see question #2).

Counties, hospitals, schools and other stakeholders will be watching to see how the governor addresses this issue. Will counties be asked to pay more? Will they have to give up any control of the process? Will hospitals that serve under-insured patients see cuts? Will there be additional cuts in payments to providers?

Will the governor resort to using one-shots or fiscal gimmicks to address the deficit? Both E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center and Dave Friedfel of the Citizens Budget Commission have warned that one-shots and other gimmicks will only make New York’s financial situation worse in the long run.