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Report
Pensions & Benefits
2017 Benefit Sweetener Scorecard
December 07, 2017
The State Legislature passed 26 bills. Click to learn more.
Report
Economic Development
Tax Increment Financing: A Primer
December 05, 2017
This report provides an overview of TIF and a five-point checklist drawn from lessons learned from past projects to help identify potential TIF projects.
Report
Economic Development
Opaque and Duplicative
Local Economic Development in New York State
October 30, 2017
Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) and Local Development Corporations (LDCs) should be consolidated at the regional level and their reporting requirements strengthened.
Report
Pensions & Benefits
The Price of Promises Made
What New York City Should Do About Its $95 Billion OPEB Debt
October 25, 2017
CBC presents options for tackling this looming $95 billion liability threatening New York City's fiscal health.
Report
Public Workforce
Overboard on OT
Reductions in Uniformed Overtime Needed
August 17, 2017
NYC blows its budget on overtime annually, and the costs have grown tremendously year over year. To "cap" overtime effectively, labor and management should work collaboratively.
Report
City Budget
NYC Resident Feedback Survey: Community District Results
Reveal Wide "Satisfaction Gap" Between Districts
June 30, 2017
How do New Yorkers feel about quality of life and municipal services? It varies tremendously by community district.
Report
City Budget
NYC Resident Feedback Survey: Report of Results
May 16, 2017
10,000 New Yorkers responded to a survey about which services they're satisfied with -- and which are in need of improvement.
Report
Economic Development
A Blueprint for Economic Development Reform
March 13, 2017
Five ways to approach economic development reform.
Report
Public Workforce
Governor Cuomo's Labor Contracts
Only Getting Part of the Job Done
January 06, 2017
In collective bargaining, the Governor must balance paying workers fairly with keeping tax levels reasonable. More needs to be done to control rising fringe benefits costs.
Report
Transportation
Recessions and Revenues
The Case of the MTA
December 16, 2015
This policy brief considers the implications of a recession for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) current financial plan.
Report
Public Workforce
Twenty Years Later
Integrating Services In The New York City Fire Department
December 09, 2015
The FDNY responds to more more medical emergencies than fires. The department needs a fundamental transformation.
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
Transportation
Taxis, Taxes, and the MTA Funding Gap
August 25, 2015
This policy brief suggests alternatives for taxes on services regulated by New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission as a potential source of filling the gap in the MTA's proposed 2015-2019 capital plan.
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
It's Time to End New York State's Empire Zone Program
December 02, 2008
The Economic Development Zone program has become a vehicle for giving tax breaks to a variety of corporations with no clear, consistent, verifiable justification for the public investment. This report describes the benefits enjoyed by participating firms and how those benefits are distributed among economic regions of the State and types of firms; identifies and elaborates on the three serious problems that compromise the program’s efficacy; and asserts that the Empire Zone program cannot be fixed, citing past failures to do so, and should end.
Report
Taxes
The Citizens Budget Commission Review of Circuit Breakers
February 04, 2008
CBC recently looked at the option of expanding New York’s existing circuit breaker program to provide targeted relief to the neediest taxpayers as background for a forum on local tax relief convened on December 6, 2007. Based on that review of options the following points, outlined in this report, can be highlighted: 1) Circuit breakers are common; 2) New York’s circuit breaker needs reform; and 3) The poorly crafted School Tax Relief Program (STAR) would work better as a circuit breaker.
Report
Economic Development
Encouraging Small Business Success in New York City and Northern New Jersey
What Firms Value Most
July 29, 2005
This survey of small businesses in New York City and Northern New Jersey finds that these businesses broadly agree on the three most important factors to success: 1) Overall cost of business; 2) Proximity to clients and markets; and 3) Access to a skilled labor force.
Report
City Budget
The Myth of the "Uncontrollables"
Four Ways New York City Can Take Control of Its Financial Future and Save $2.5 Billion per Year
May 11, 2005
For years New York City mayors have bemoaned the fact that much of the budget is uncontrollable: pension fund contributions, health insurance, Medicaid, and debt service. This report suggests four ways to reduce the “uncontrollables” and save $2.5 billion annually.
Report
Pensions & Benefits
The Case for Redesigning Retirement Benefits for New York's Public Employees
April 29, 2005
This report presents recommendations for redesigning the retirement benefits – health insurance and pension payments – for employees of the City of New York and State of New York. It includes a description of current benefits and a comparison to benefits provided by other large private and public employers.
Report
Education
Can New York Get An A In School Finance Reform?
January 01, 2005
The State of New York faces a major challenge stemming from a 2003 ruling by the Court of Appeals, the State’s highest court, which found that the more than 1 million children in New York City’s public schools were not provided with the sound basic education guaranteed to them by the State Constitution. CBC addresses two fundamental questions: Where should the money come from? What changes other than more money are essential to improving educational outcomes?