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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
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
Managing Economic Development Programs in NYC: Lessons for the Next Mayor From the Past Decade
The Most Important Economic and Fiscal Decisions Facing the Next Mayor
December 06, 2013
This paper describes the economic development programs used in New York City and assesses the experience during the Bloomberg Administration in order to provide suggestions for further improvements by the next Mayor.
Report
Education
The Challenge of Making Universal Prekindergarten a Reality in New York State
October 23, 2013
Is the expansion of pre-k programs to all three- and four-year-olds in New York worthwhile and cost effective?
Report
Capital Spending
Three Key Steps for Improving New York State’s New Statewide Capital Plan
September 25, 2013
This brief assesses New York State’s first-ever 10-year capital plan released in June 2013 by the New York Works Task Force. It offers steps to more effectively and strategically allocate State capital investment funding.
Report
Public Workforce
7 Things New Yorkers Should Know About Municipal Labor Contracts
May 19, 2013
This brief lists seven things New Yorkers should know about New York City collective bargaining and labor relations.
Report
Economic Development
Competitiveness Scorecard
Assessing NYC's Competitiveness as a Home for Human Capital
February 06, 2013
This scorecard assesses the New York City metropolitan area’s competitiveness in attracting, cultivating and retaining talent. The scorecard is based on the relative performance of the New York City metro area against 14 of the largest domestic metro areas on a comprehensive set of quantitative indicators.
Report
Pensions & Benefits
Everybody’s Doing It
Health Insurance Premium-Sharing by Employees and Retirees in the Public and Private Sectors
January 27, 2013
This report analyzes New York City’s health premium policies for employees and retirees and suggests options to generate savings by implementing premium-sharing in the City's largest plans.
Report
Capital Spending
How Public-Private Partnerships Can Help New York Address Its Infrastructure Needs
December 11, 2008
This report explores the application of public-private partnership (PPPs) in New York by explaining its definition of such a relationship and offering in-depth guidelines, potential applications (including highway bridges, New York City school buildings, New York City parks, and higher education facilities), examples on a global, national, and local level, and potential missteps and cautions.
Report
Health Care
Paying More, But Not Getting Better Care
The Case For A New Payment System For Nursing Homes In New York's Medicaid Program
December 09, 2008
New York’s Medicaid program is the most expensive in the nation, projected to cost $45 billion in fiscal year 2008-09 and to consume nearly one-third of the New York State budget. New York State can provide needy residents with better nursing home care and save about $1.2 billion annually in fiscal year 2008-2009 by changing the way its Medicaid program pays nursing homes. This report explains why the current system is wasteful, perpetuating inefficiencies and inequities without assuring high quality care, and how a better payment system might work.
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
State Budget
The Armonk Agenda
Next Steps for Fiscal Reform in New York State
October 01, 2006
On April 7–8, 2006, CBC convened a conference in Armonk, New York with the goal of identifying widely supported, high-priority measures for fiscal reform in New York State. This report highlights the realignment of state and local fiscal responsibilities in order to lower local government’s tax burdens, changes in debt management in order to lower the State’s debt burden and make more effective use of borrowing, and improvements in the annual budget process in order to make it more accountable, timely and transparent.
Report
Education
Approaches to School Finance Reform for New York State
Is Robin Hood the Good Guy? Moving Toward a More Equitable School Aid System for New York
September 28, 2006
The report discusses the background of the 2003 New York State Court of Appeals decision in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case, an overview of the issue, explains what is wrong with the current system, provides possible sources of revenue, and provides a discussion framework.
Report
State Budget
Public Authorities in New York State
April 03, 2006
New York State’s extensive reliance on authorities has given rise to four significant problems: 1) Misuse of the power to incur debt; 2) Insufficient oversight and coordination of project revenue backed and private conduit borrowing; 3) Insufficient reporting to support accountability; and 4) Insufficient independence in governance. Each problem is explained more fully in this report, along with five strategies to address them.
Report
Pensions & Benefits
Old Assumptions, New Realities
The Truth About Wages and Retirement Benefits For Government Employees
March 31, 2006
This report summarizes a more detailed study prepared by CBC, “The Case for Redesigning Retirement Benefits for New York’s Public Employees,” released in 2005. For decades the popular image of government employment has involved the tradeoff of lower wages for job security and relatively generous retirement benefits. That image, while still widespread, is no longer the reality.