Lander will announce a transition committee today that will be co-chaired by Carol Kellermann, former President of the Citizens Budget Commission, and activist Mark Winston Griffith.

Mr. Adams will also inherit a budget gap of about $5 billion that will require immediate action, said Andrew S. Rein, president of the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission. There will be contracts to negotiate with city workers and, eventually, the federal aid that helped pay for some city priorities will dwindle.

“Every decision has long-run implications,” Mr. Rein said. “If you start sooner, you can take care of it. When you’re in an emergency situation, it’s hard to make good decisions that are not painful.”

The Medicaid global spending cap increased from $19.9 billion in fiscal 2021 to $22.3 billion in fiscal 2022, in part due to increases in the rolling average for medical inflation, according to the program's latest spending report. However, the cap applies only to about 85% of Medicaid spending growth by the Department of Health.

That has led to accounting maneuvers such as deferring payments into the following fiscal year and shifting some spending to other agencies not subject to the cap, noted the Citizens Budget Commission, a think tank.

Patrick Orecki, director of state studies at the Citizens Budget Commission, said the state’s strong fiscal position, especially after approving “massive new spending and taxes in this year’s budget,” should be a cue to lawmakers that more hikes are unnecessary.

Proposed taxes on mezzanine and preferred equity financing, which would raise about $200 million annually, were likewise scrapped after local and national real estate organizations wrote then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, arguing that the tax would be passed on to pandemic-hit landlords and their commercial and residential tenants.

Patrick Orecki, director of state studies at the Citizens Budget Commission, said the state’s strong fiscal position, especially after approving “massive new spending and taxes in this year’s budget,” should be a cue to lawmakers that more hikes are unnecessary.

“Not only should the state not be considering additional tax increases — be they personal income tax, real estate, or other — but they should be considering reducing taxes to improve economic competitiveness,” Orecki said. “Many of the previously-proposed tax increases on real estate, such as pied-à-terre, are anti-competitive and can compound fiscal volatility.”

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She also won’t get involved in matters related to several private organizations, including the Irish Repertory Theater and the Citizens Budget Commission, groups where her husband serves as a board member.

New York also cut its police budget by $1 billion last year, largely through police overtime reduction. That $1 billion number was specifically asked for by New York activist organizations—such as Brooklyn Movement Center and Communities United for Police Reform coalition. Last June, they orchestrated the around-the-clock “Occupy City Hall” protests to pressure the city to bow to their demands.

However, New York failed to deliver the reduction in the end, because its police force logged 77 percent more overtime than budgeted, according to the New York-based Citizens Budget Commission. Officers had to work overtime to cope with the massive protests and social unrest.

The Citizens Budget Commission noted the far-reaching effects of the spending shifts.

“The comptroller's analysis highlights the importance of commuters in supporting central district businesses, and by extension the city's economic recovery,” CBC President Andrew Rein told The Bond Buyer. “Sectors that rely on commuters — stores, restaurants, and bars — continue to recover more slowly than other parts of the city's economy."

For many, remote work is not an option, including those in manufacturing or retail jobs. As this type of employment declines while service jobs gain, the negative impact on sales tax revenue could increase, the report said.

He serves as chair of the board of the Regional Alliance for Small Contractors, co-chairman of the Building Trades Employers’ Association, vice chairman of the New York Building Foundation, and trustee of the Citizens Budget Commission.

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