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Blog
City Budget
PEGging It Right
Guidelines for the PEG Process
March 05, 2019
For the first time since taking office, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced plans to implement a Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG), which requires agencies to generate savings through expense reductions or revenue enhancements. The de Blasio administration previously eschewed PEGs in favor of Citywide Savings Plans (CSPs); in contrast to the PEG, agency participation in the CSP was voluntary. Pursuing a PEG presents both a challenge and an opportunity. This blog proposes three guidelines for the process: 1) identify significantly more than $750 million in savings, 2) encourage recurring savings through efficiency, and 3) follow agencies’ leads.
Blog
City Budget
NYC Revenues in a Recession
Quantifying the Potential Shortfall
February 26, 2019
The potential shortfall from a recession comparable to the last two recessions could be substantial: between $15 billion and $20 billion below projections over three years.
Testimony
Capital Spending
Testimony on Intro. No. 113
For an Online Database of Pending Construction Projects
February 12, 2019
Intro. No. 113 would require the City of New York to produce an online database of all pending construction projects that includes initial and current completion dates and costs.
Testimony
Education
State Education Aid Proposal for 2019-2020
Testimony Submitted to a Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Elementary and Secondary Education
February 06, 2019
In the aggregate New York State spends enough to provide all students with a sound basic education; however, State school aid is not targeted well enough to achieve this goal in all districts.
Blog
City Budget
Sound Strategy, Sound Future
Recommended Approach for the City’s Preliminary FY 2020 Budget
February 01, 2019
A thriving economy has allowed the City to increase spending by $20 billion since fiscal year 2014. The City should undertake a necessary course correction with this four-part strategy:
Blog
City Budget
The Cost of More Cops: A Full Accounting
August 03, 2015
Police officers have a greater budget impact than most other City employees: what's the cost of 1,300 new cops?
Blog
Education
Fringe Benefits Pushed New York Education Spending Higher in 2013
June 22, 2015
High levels of school spending in NY largely reflected the relatively high cost of employee compensation.
Testimony
Capital Spending
Testimony On Ten-Year Capital Strategy and Capital Budget
Delivered to NY City Council Committee on Finance
May 18, 2015
The Mayor's Ten-Year Capital Strategy totals $83.8 billion- a $30 billion increase from the prior plan. CBC has two main concerns about the Strategy: there is insufficient information available to judge the investments, and the investments will add to the City’s high debt burden.
Blog
Transportation
Who Pays When “The City” Gives Money to the MTA?
May 05, 2015
Calls for “the City” to provide more funding should be clear about who is really being asked to foot the bill: New York City taxpayers already provide most of the MTA's revenue through the combination of local, regional, and state taxes.
Blog
City Budget
A PEG by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet
April 19, 2015
Mayor de Blasio voices heartfelt interest in finding ways to save money, but he does not want to call it a PEG or put such name in his plan, at least in part because of its identification with prior administrations.
Blog
Taxes
How Much to Bank on? When it Comes to Revenue Forecasting, Better Safe Than Sorry
April 12, 2015
What kind of impact could a recession have on New York City's revenues?
Blog
Education
New York State School Aid
A Big Increase, Badly Allocated Among Districts
April 08, 2015
The fiscal year 2016 state budget enacted last week includes a 6.0 percent increase in annual formula-based aid to school districts from $21.8 billion to $23.1 billion. This is the third consecutive year in which the Governor and the legislature have busted the statutory growth cap they agreed upon in 2011.
Testimony
City Budget
Testimony Examining Health Care Savings Under Recent Collective Bargaining Agreements
Delivered to the NYC Council Committee on Finance
April 01, 2015
Savings that would have normally been reserved for general budget needs—such as funding libraries or maintaining public parks—and are attributable to a national slowdown in health care costs, are now being credited to the health savings agreement.