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Blog
State Budget
Truth in (Financial Plan) Reporting
Will New York State’s Mid-Year Financial Plan Update Appropriately Reflect and Address the Medicaid Budget Shortfall?
November 05, 2019
The State must recognize actual and timely payments for the Medicaid program and explain how it will address the estimated $9 billion Medicaid budget shortfall.
Blog
Public Workforce
Four Facts about New York City Full-Time Employees
October 17, 2019
Here are four facts about full-time NYC employees in fiscal year 2019.
Blog
Public Workforce
The High Cost of the MTA’s New Police Officers
September 25, 2019
The MTA has committed to hiring 500 new police officers to address quality of life concerns, but it is necessary to understand this strategy comes at a cost.
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
Governor Cuomo Should Veto 19 Benefit Sweetener Bills
2019 Benefit Sweetener Scorecard Update
July 12, 2019
The bills would enhance benefits without providing enhanced services to taxpayers or offsetting savings.
Blog
Capital Spending
Don’t Pass the Capital Pork
June 07, 2019
Like most other spending decisions, capital spending is best decided during budget negotiations.
Blog
Public Workforce
59 New Bills Added to Benefit Sweetener Scorecard
June 06, 2019
In the remaining weeks of the legislative session, members will propose to enhance the benefits of State and local public employees and retirees.
Blog
Education
Adopted Budget Continues Unequal Access to a Sound Basic Education
May 22, 2019
It will cost NYS school districts approximately $62.6 billion to provide a sound basic education to all students, yet several districts will not have enough funding.
Blog
Public Workforce
NYS Legislature Introduces 130 Benefit Sweetener Bills
May 01, 2019
For the remaining seven weeks of the legislative session, members will propose to enhance the benefits of State and local public employees and retirees.
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
2019 Benefit Sweetener Scorecard
New York State Bill Tracker
May 01, 2019
For the remaining seven weeks of the legislative session, members will propose to enhance the benefits of State and local public employees and retirees.
Blog
Education
Funding a Sound Basic Education in 2020
March 07, 2019
Despite significant funding increases over the past decade, some districts in New York State still do not have the resources to provide a sound basic education.
Blog
Health Care
Medicaid Supplemental Payments
State Workgroup Makes Limited Progress on Part of the Problem
February 15, 2019
New York State’s $78 billion Medicaid program includes $5.3 billion of “supplemental payments”. These supplemental payments are crucial to hospitals across the state, especially those largely serving uninsured and Medicaid populations.
Blog
City Budget
The End of The Retiree Trust Fund
July 22, 2013
Tthe Financial Control Board (FCB) certified New York City’s Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2014 is balanced. As the FCB mentions in its report, the 2014 budget is balanced with $2.8 billion in surplus funds from fiscal year 2013 and $1 billion withdrawn from the Retiree Health Benefits Insurance Trust Fund.
Blog
Public Workforce
Binding Arbitration Law: Don’t Extend It, Improve It
June 13, 2013
State leaders should amend the binding arbitration statute for police, firefighters and others to resolve labor contract impasses to emphasize a government's "ability to pay."
Blog
Education
New York Tops the List in State Public School Spending
June 03, 2013
In 2011 per pupil education spending nationwide fell 0.4%. In New York, however, per pupil spending increased 2.5% from $18,618 to $19,076, fully 81% above the national average and placing it at the top of the spending list for all 50 states.
Blog
Capital Spending
How Much, and for What?
May 21, 2013
Reviews the $54 billion Ten-Year Capital Strategy; the next mayor will have to make difficult trade-offs between competing priorities while ensuring the city’s debt does not become unaffordable.
Blog
City Budget
The Giant Slice: Legacy Costs in the New York City Budget
May 09, 2013
“Legacy costs” will claim almost 25 percent of the budget by fiscal year 2015 – leaving fewer dollars for other budget priorities.
Blog
State Budget
Little Noticed but Significant: The Sound Recommendations of the SAGE Commission
April 15, 2013
Reviews the worthwhile recommendations of the Spending and Government Efficiency Commission, or “SAGE” Commission.
Blog
Education
Generous Helpings of School Aid Exceed the Cap and Benefit All Districts
April 03, 2013
The allocation of school aid in New York State’s adopted budget for fiscal year 2014 has two key features: It exceeds the “cap” tied to personal income growth and it distributes the funds in a poorly targeted manner.
Blog
Education
A Big Aid Increase for Schools
March 26, 2013
The final agreement on state school aid allocates $20.8 billion, approximately $7,700 per student, in formula-based school aid for school year 2014. This represents an increase of 4.7%, over school year 2013.
Blog
Education
Competitive Education Grants in New York State: The Experience in Year 1
March 05, 2013
Competitive grants are an important element in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s approach to state aid for education. The new approach began on a small scale last year, and a review of the experience in the first year suggests the proposed expansion may be premature.