Debt | CBC

Refunding the MTA's Debt: The Importance of Getting it Right

May 07, 2012

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.

Albany Handcuffs New York’s Cities

Jul 05, 2012

Local governments in New York are under serious and growing fiscal pressure, and the Legislature isn’t doing enough to ease the burden. Unfortunately, the Legislature seems oblivious. There was no progress on important bills introduced earlier in the spring session, and in the final days of June a few bills passed that could even make things worse.

How Sick Leave Can Be Bad for a Locality's Fiscal Health, and Health Insurance May Be Even Worse

Jul 02, 2012

Borrowing by local governments to pay for operating expenses is bad financial management; it forces future residents to pay for services consumed by those living in a jurisdiction today, often burdening children with the cost of benefits enjoyed by the current generation.

Statement on the Citytime Settlement

Mar 14, 2012

The $500 million CityTime settlement announced today is welcome news to New Yorkers. It is important that the recouped funds be used, not for short-term budget relief and restorations, but to help defray the costs of the City’s capital program.

Statement on the CityTime Settlement

Mar 14, 2012

New York City Debt Outstanding

Sep 13, 2011

At the end of fiscal year 2011, New York City reached a milestone: the amount of debt outstanding passed $100 billion. As total debt outstanding has grown - by 83 percent since 2002 - the forms of debt the City issues have also diversified.

Statement on the MTA's Capital Funding Proposal

Jul 27, 2011

The capital funding proposal submitted by the MTA Board today is the first serious effort to address a critical problem.

Letter to the State Legislators Commending Their Vote Against School District Borrowing

Jun 29, 2011

CBC sent a letter of commendation to the State Legislators who voted against school district borrowing for pension contributions (A6309/S4067). See the list of legislators after the jump.

In The Danger Zone: A Comparative Analysis of New York State's Long-Term Obligations

Mar 09, 2010

A comparative analysis of the 50 states indicates that New York's debt burden is in a "danger zone;" it is well above national averages and greater than that of all but three states. As a result New Yorkers are currently paying about $5.6 billion in debt service, and in four years the state's credit card obligation will be over $7.1 billion or one of every ten dollars paid in taxes.

What About Debt Service?

Feb 23, 2010

Given the fiscal pressures on the City, what does Mayor Michael Bloomberg plan to do to cut debt service? Debt service, the payment of interest and principle due on long-term borrowing, has been growing rapidly under his tenure. Since it is tied to the size of the capital plan, it can only be controlled by reducing the level of capital investment that is supported with borrowing.