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Video
Housing
Carl Weisbrod, Director, Department of City Planning
CBC Breakfast Series
December 11, 2014
CBC Breakfast with City Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod in December 2014.
Blog
Transportation
Agency Focus: NYS DOT
Budget Analysis
September 28, 2014
Two major challenges face the New York State Department of Transportation: undertaking a comprehensive needs assessment and identifying resources needed to implement a capital plan.
Blog
City Budget
Agency Focus: DEP
Budget Analysis
September 21, 2014
Three entities govern New York City's water and sewer system: the Department of Environmental Protection operates and maintains the system; the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority (WFA) borrows to finance capital investments; and the Water Board sets rates for customers to meet financing needs. Learn more.
Blog
State Budget
The Challenge of Producing a $2 Billion Surplus
January 16, 2014
With school aid and Medicaid growing at annual rates at or above 4 percent, all other categories of spending, including agency operations, will face offsetting reductions to the plan if the net increase in overall state spending is to be kept to 2 percent.
Blog
State Budget
A Disappointing DRP
November 24, 2009
Analysis of the NYS Deficit Reduction plan proposed in the FY2010 Budget
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
An Expensive Pension Enhancement Bill is on the Move
June 08, 2014
About the bill to increase disability pension benefits for police officers hired after July 1, 2009, when a more financially sustainable “Tier III” plan went into effect.
Blog
Pensions & Benefits
Giving Credit Where It’s Due? New York City’s $1.3 Billion in Health Insurance Savings
December 28, 2014
In its recent mid-year budget modification the de Blasio administration credited a coalition of municipal employee unions with achieving $1.3 billion in savings in the City’s employee and retiree health insurance costs. Yet the unions have not agreed to any changes in the plan, and the City and the unions have taken no actions to reduce costs. How can this be?
Letter
City Budget
CBC Proposes a New Fiscal Strategy for the City's FY2010 Budget
June 10, 2009
This letter to the mayor, speaker, and chairman of the finance committee outlines four key elements of a new fiscal strategy that would address the structural imbalance in the City's budget due to the ongoing recession.
Blog
State Budget
Wise Measures: Three Proposals To Retain In The FY2015 Budget
March 20, 2014
Three proposals in the FY2015 budget that are meaningful reforms; they should not be omitted or watered down as they were in the Senate and Assembly “one-house” budget resolutions.
Blog
Taxes
New Revenues and the Path to Sustainable State Spending
March 07, 2011
Since the onset of the national recession the State has relied more extensively on new revenue measures than on recurring spending cuts.
Blog
City Budget
Where Do We Go From Here?
Steering New York City’s Finances in Fiscal Year 2015
June 30, 2014
This blog post examines what’s new in the fiscal year 2015 budget and makes recommendations for steering the City’s finances over the next four years.
Report
Education
Vote "No" on the Smart Schools Bond Act
October 19, 2014
While enhancing the use of technology in schools is a popular cause, the Smart Schools Bond Act is ill-conceived and deserves a "no" vote for three reasons discussed in this report.
Blog
Taxes
The Tax Hike’s Silver Lining
December 07, 2011
If the temporary personal income tax hike is the price we pay for long-term reforms that enhance infrastructure, encourage job growth, make the state and local tax system more equitable, and reduce future pension costs, then it is a price worth paying.
Op Ed
City Budget
New Priorities for Mayor Bloomberg's Third Term
November 15, 2009
CBC President Carol Kellermann outlines the fiscal priorities that need to be addressed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his third term in this op-ed published in the Huffington Post.
Report
Pensions & Benefits
Six-Figure Civil Servants
Average Compensation Cost Of New York City Public Employees
January 08, 2009
In fiscal year 2008, the average compensation cost per New York City full-time employee was $106,743; this figure represents a system out of sync with the private sector and an opportunity to limit the growth of the City’s liability in the future while continuing to provide fair and adequate compensation to the City’s employees. Three factors that have driven the growth in compensation among City employees are: 1) Pay increases are directly attributable to contract settlements with unions; 2) More generous terms of the health insurance benefits offered by the City, as compared to the private sector and other state and local governments; and 3) The benefit retirement plans offered by the City that lock in the City’s future payouts to retirees based on the employee’s pay, years of employment and age at retirement among other factors. CBC offers three recommendations in response to these factors.
Blog
State Budget
Guidelines for Wisely Using the $5 Billion Windfall
December 15, 2014
Three questions for determining good uses of one-time revenues.
Blog
State Budget
The Ongoing Challenge of Producing a $2 Billion Surplus: An Update
January 22, 2014
On January 21 Governor Andrew Cuomo presented a $142.1 billion fiscal year 2015 Executive Budget with a projected $2 billion annual surplus beginning in fiscal year 2016-17. How can it be achieved?
Blog
State Budget
The Challenge of Staying Under the 2 Percent State Spending Cap
May 19, 2014
The discipline of a 2 percent spending cap has markedly improved the State’s fiscal condition and spurred key reforms in Medicaid and State operations.
Testimony
State Budget
Testimony on Improving the State Budgetary Process
Delivered to the Select Committee on Budget and Tax Reform
December 17, 2009
In this testimony the CBC assesses the effectiveness of provisions in the New York State Budget Reform Act of 2007 and makes additional recommendations for improving transparency, forecasting, and flexibility.
Report
Energy & Environment
New York’s Green Policies
Too Much or Too Little – A Competitive Perspective
April 03, 2011
This report assesses how New York compares to other cities in pursuing green objectives and suggests how New York’s leaders can set priorities for taking additional steps to promote environmental goals in ways that align with goals of economic growth and urban competitiveness.