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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
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.
Report
Public Workforce
Reform at the Bargaining Table
Labor’s Participation Needed to Improve the MTA’s Financial Outlook
April 30, 2019
The MTA's fiscal outlook is dire, and improving it requires a multipronged approach. Paramount in the effort is slowing the growth of labor costs.
Blog
Transportation
Why We Should Go Slow on the Second Avenue Subway
November 03, 2015
Why delaying plans for the second phase of the Second Avenue subway is sensible.
Blog
City Budget
Five Fast Facts about the NYPD’s Adopted FY 2022 Budget
July 15, 2021
The more than $10 billion in planned annual spending on the NYPD continues to garner significant attention. NYC’s recently adopted FY 2022 Budget has five important takeaways.
Report
Education
Cut Costs, Not Ribbons
Alternatives That Reduce School Crowding
July 09, 2019
Administrative solutions can reduce school crowding and limit the need to build expensive new school buildings.
Blog
Public Workforce
We Fund the Police
How Much? What Has Changed?
June 15, 2021
Few fiscal realities are the subject of as much public attention as the size of the NYPD budget.
Blog
City Budget
Hiring Now, Attrition Later
One-Year Hiring Thaw Leaves Budgeted Staff Reduction For Next Mayor
July 13, 2021
In the Fiscal Year 2022 Adopted Budget, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council temporarily reversed the City’s partial hiring freeze savings plan.
Report
Economic Development
Raising the REDC Bar
December 17, 2019
This report assesses REDC design and implementation based on best practices identified through case studies of successful local revitalization efforts in the U.S.
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
Report
Transportation
Building a Sound Fiscal Future for New York's Highway and Mass Transit Systems
March 19, 2019
Options for raising sufficient funds for roads and transit statewide include increasing tolls and fees, enacting congestion pricing, and implementing a vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) fee.
Report
Economic Development
10 Billion Reasons to Rethink Economic Development in New York
February 11, 2019
This policy brief updates the Citizens Budget Commission's previous analyses of the cost of New York's state and local economic development programs.
Report
Energy & Environment
Getting Greener
Cost-Effective Options for Achieving New York State's Greenhouse Gas Goals
December 09, 2019
While GHG emissions have risen in other large states like Texas and Florida, New York has been a leader in reducing GHG emissions; the continued focus on getting greener through further emissions reductions is necessary and important.
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.
Report
State Budget
New York's Endangered Future
Debt Beyond Our Means
September 21, 2005
New York State's debt obligations will require current and future taxpayers to bear a burden that creates a competitive disadvantage with the other states. The core issue is that New York has no effective legal limits on the amount of debt it can assume. CBC advocates for short-run and long-run measures; in the near term, voters should reject bond referendums such as the Transportation Bond Act of 2005 until debt is brought under control, and in the long-run the State must strike a balance between adequate infrastructure investment and a competitive debt burden.
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?
Report
Economic Development
Bigger Not Better
New York’s Expanding Economic Development Programs
February 18, 2015
Although some modest reforms have been made, many economic development programs have grown significantly without the improvements needed to address widely noted shortcomings.
Report
Economic Development
An Assessment of Performance Reporting by Regional Economic Development Councils
November 29, 2015
This brief assesses the performance of New York State's Regional Economic Development Councils over the past four years and offers recommendations for further improving data collected on projects and on the economic performance of the regions.
Report
Economic Development
Opportunity Zones In New York State and City
August 20, 2019
The Opportunity Zone program may amount to significant losses for both NYS and NYC before rising substantially in 2029.
Blog
Housing
The Cost of Affordable Housing
December 15, 2015
How much does it take to build in NYC?