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Blog
Housing
4 Fast FHEPS Facts
May 08, 2023
The cost of these rental assistance programs has increased immensely, from $16 million in fiscal year 2015 to an anticipated $636 million in fiscal year 2023.
Blog
Economic Development
Shrink, Don’t Expand, the New York State Film Tax Credit
March 06, 2023
The current program already is overly generous compared to other states and should be phased out.
Blog
Housing
Building the Housing We Need
State Proposes Cost-Effective Strategies to Boost Production, Increase Affordability
March 01, 2023
Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a package of bills intended to double New York’s housing production rate to create 800,000 new units over the next decade.
Blog
Economic Development
No Extension without Evaluation
Reject Proposed Extension of Certain NYC Economic Development Tax Breaks Absent Appropriate Analysis
February 23, 2023
Prior evaluations found two of these programs to be ineffective; the bar to justify their extension should be appropriately higher.
Blog
Housing
The Cost of Affordable Housing
December 15, 2015
How much does it take to build in NYC?
Blog
Economic Development
Learning from Past Mistakes
Examining Changes to the Excelsior Jobs Program
October 20, 2015
In 2008, CBC called for the elimination of the Empire Zones jobs program amid concerns it wasted public resources. In 2010, New York State replaced Empire Zones with the streamlined Excelsior Jobs Program. Excelsior was designed to avoid the errors of Empire Zones but until recently it has been difficult to assess to what degree it achieves its objectives.
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.
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
Big Decisions Before Albany Do Not Deter Sweeteners
June 09, 2015
Tracking bills enhancing benefits for public employees introduced in the 2015 Legislative Session
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
Pension Sweetener Scorecard – Disability Benefits Edition
June 01, 2015
Reviews 10 bills introduced to benefit recently hired New York City uniformed employees that are gaining momentum
Blog
Economic Development
Economic Development Bigger in State Budget, But Benefits Unclear
April 15, 2015
Since 2011 New York leaders have restrained growth in the state’s operating budget; in contrast, the scale and scope of questionable economic development programs continue to be expanded significantly. In 2014 state and local spending for these activities totaled $8 billion.
Blog
State Budget
New York’s $1 Billion Brownfield Cleanup Program
March 17, 2015
Overview of Brownfield Cleanup Program
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
New York Should Stop Borrowing from its Pension Funds
February 25, 2015
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget for FY2016 proposes to borrow an additional $1.8 billion from public employee pension funds in coming years. This proposal adds to taxpayers’ long-run costs and risks weakening the fiscal condition of the funds.
Blog
State Budget
Balancing the State Budget – Halfway There, But Running Out of Gas?
December 19, 2011
The Governor should avoid more new taxes as the way to close the rest of the budget gap and instead focus on containing spending growth in Medicaid, pensions, education, and economic development.
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
New York City Is Not Alone
November 16, 2011
Reducing the pensions funds' investment target to 7% would be prudent in order to keep the City’s pension funds fully funded, and it would be consistent with changes that have been adopted by other large public pension systems.
Blog
Public Workforce
Another Good Idea to Save the City Money
October 27, 2011
The New York City union welfare funds could also use some "depoliticizing, professionalizing and streamlining."
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
How Much Did New York’s 2010 Early Retirement Incentive Save?
October 25, 2011
The CBC estimates that early retirement incentives saved taxpayers $681 million savings- less than would have been saved if the Governor had been able to achieve through layoffs.
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
Another Promising Sign
July 12, 2011
The Citizen Budget Commission congratulates Governor Andrew Cuomo on his veto of A6309/S4067, the bill that proposed allowing school districts to borrow over $1 billion for pension costs.
Blog
City Budget
New York City’s Adopted Budget: Missed Opportunities
July 05, 2011
In adopting the FY2012 budget, City leaders missed the opportunity to address the big-ticket items – health insurance, pensions and debt service – whose unchecked growth will continue to dominate the budget and result in service reductions and layoffs.
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
Possible City Savings From Health Insurance Changes
June 19, 2011
Following the template provided by Governor Cuomo and the CSEA can produce $1.4 billion in savings for New York City in fiscal year 2012 – more than enough to avert layoffs and other cuts.