"Good-government groups are often scoffed at in Albany, but the [CBC's] analyses have a real impact on policy in the Capitol. The accessible, well-researched reports ... cut through the rhetoric with substance that lawmakers find difficult to ignore." City State
Municipal government is the largest employer in New York City, employing almost 300,000 people to provide the services on which businesses, residents and visitors rely. This is an expensive enterprise: personnel costs, including salaries, health insurance and pensions, make up more than half of the City of New York’s $72 billion budget.
The future econonomic prosperity of the New York City metropolitan area depends on attracting and retaining a highly-educated workforce. In coming years, economic growth will be driven by industries that require highly-skilled workers with specialized knowldge, technical expertise and an ability to innovate.
The cost to taxpayers of health insurance for New York City public employees and retirees has more than doubled in the last 10 years. It’s projected to grow by almost 40 percent and comprise 70 percent of the budget deficit in 2016.
Public education from preschool to grade 12 in New York is a $60 billion enterprise, accounting for one in three state and local tax dollars. Per pupil spending in New York is well above national norms and ranks second among states behind Connecticut. But recent years have not been easy for school districts.
This policy brief compares the wages PANYNJ police officers with those of the largest state and local police forces in the region, as well as a federal agency. The major finding of the report is that PANYNJ’s police officers are paid more generously than officers of most other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
This year New York will allocate $762 million in economic development funds through the recently created Regional Economic Development Councils. Although the Councils have improved the effectiveness of the funding within their purview, they still control only a fraction of total economic development spending and their review process still leaves room for improvement.
The MTA plays a vital role in New York City's economy. More than 70 percent of the 3.7 million people who enter New York City’s central business district on a typical weekday come by mass transit. Of those using mass transit, 83 percent or 2.1 million rely on the MTA’s commuter rail, subway or bus services.
This report makes the case for a significant change in New York City's solid waste disposal practices, a shift from heavy reliance on long-distance exporting to landfills to greater reliance on use of local waste-to-energy facilities.
The MTA has $32 billion in long-term debt outstanding – more than 41 states and more than $14,000 for each worker commuting daily into New York’s central business district. That is an impressively large sum, but public authority debt is not inherently a bad thing. Nonetheless, debt has become a problem for the MTA because its revenues are not keeping pace with its debt obligations.
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), a vital component of the health care safety net protecting lower income New Yorkers, faces two significant fiscal challenges in the coming years.
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