On the evening of Friday June 24 Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced an agreement on the City’s budget for fiscal year 2012; five days later, on Wednesday June 29, the Council voted to approve the deal and taxpayers got to see the specifics.
In June the New York City Council voted to approve New York City's budget for fiscal year 2011. The Mayor and the City Council should be commended for passing a budget that responsibly deals with difficult financial realities without raising taxes and by achieving recurring savings of over $1 billion in agency spending.
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.
CBC Senior Research Associate Maria Doulis testifies before the City Council Finance Committee on the Executive Budget for fiscal year 2009. With a surplus projected in the current year and a budget balanced for fiscal year 2009, this is a critical opportunity to think about the long-term fiscal challenges facing the City.
CBC comments on Executive Budget for fiscal year 2009 released by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The budget is based on a realistic assessment of the economic problem facing New York City and presents a sound strategy for dealing with it in the coming fiscal year.
CBC analyzes the so-called “uncontrollable” or “non-discretionary” items in the New York City budget. The report – entitled "The Myth of the Uncontrollables” – urges the City to take action on these items, rather than accept them as inevitable cost increases. The report identifies four ways the City should take the lead in pursuing $2.5 billion in annual savings by fiscal year 2009.
For years New York City mayors have bemoaned the fact that much of the budget is “uncontrollable.” Different mayors have used a variety of terms, including “unfunded mandates” and “non-discretionary spending,” to describe these items.
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