The MTA should vary the congestion charge by time of day and week, clearly communicate those fee levels, and even consider adding a “vehicle-miles traveled” fee for trips within the congestion zone to further cut down on congestion, wrote commission President Andrew Rein in a letter to the board.

The watchdog group Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) predicted when current federal subsidies run out, the budget deficit will swell to $918 billion in 2029.

The Citizens Budget Commission, however, said the exact opposite when it offered five recommendations for the tolling structure. The fiscal watchdog group argued that while the issue of “toll shopping” required mitigation, “doing so through credits to the congestion charge would increase the program’s complexity and significantly increase the congestion toll paid by other travelers.”

The MTA should vary the congestion charge by time of day and week, clearly communicate those fee levels, and even consider adding a “vehicle-miles traveled” fee for trips within the congestion zone to further cut down on congestion, wrote commission President Andrew Rein in a letter to the board.

While the MTA anticipates balanced spending plans through 2027, the Citizens Budget Commission, a watchdog group that focuses on state and city budgets, estimates shortfalls may emerge next year. Those gaps will be manageable, but may grow to $918 million in 2029, according to a CBC report released Monday.

The fiscally conservative Citizens Budget Commission argued Hochul should fend off pressures from the spend-thirsty legislature in the next budget cycle starting in January.

“The MTA should start now to bring its spending in line with its recurring revenues, lest it return to taxpayers and riders for a new infusion of extraordinary resources in just a few years,” the group said in the report.

It’s worked before: A 1995 tax break for conversions helped create 13,000 new apartment units in Lower Manhattan, per the Citizens Budget Commission.

The Citizens Budget Commission urged the Council not to override, arguing that the voucher program is already under budgeted. The city has budgeted $280 million for vouchers in fiscal year 2024, even though the program cost $421 million in the previous year.

The Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscal watchdog, argued in a Thursday tweet thread that the bills wouldn’t reduce spending overall, even though the monthly cost of a voucher is lower than the monthly cost of a shelter stay. That’s because vouchers are long term commitments, they said, while shelter stays are shorter.

“In the face of a reported budget gap of $5 billion in fiscal year 2025, when these bills would go into full effect, such spending is unaffordable,” the fact-sheet said. “The City Council has not said how it would fund the expansion — what other services they would cut or what revenue they would raise.”

It is not uncommon for City Hall to increase the CityFHEPS budget throughout the year, according to Sean Campion, director of housing and economic development studies at the Citizens Budget Commission, or CBC, a nonprofit fiscal watchdog.