"Since its founding in 1932, the CBC has earned a reputation for independence and objective research. It is a leader in advocating for government reform." NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo
Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg, Comptroller Liu and a number of city labor leaders announced an agreement that is intended to “depoliticize,” “professionalize” and “streamline” the way pension funds invest. This consolidation is meant to reduce the complexity, inconsistency and inefficiency of administering five different pension funds. This makes sense.
The Mayor and City Council are discussing ways to avoid the layoffs and service cuts proposed to balance the fiscal year 2012 budget. They should consider reforming health insurance arrangements for employees and retirees as a way to create meaningful savings and prevent the cuts. CBC suggests three specific changes that could save the City over $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2012:
State leaders have seized the opportunity presented by the unprecedented budget deficit to implement long-term solutions that will help restore the State’s fiscal strength. While the budget negotiations signaled a change in Albany’s working dynamics, some old habits die hard; indeed, some just won’t die at all.
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposals to cap property taxes and reduce education aid mean that New York State’s 676 school districts will need to manage with fewer resources; their biggest challenge is to reduce spending without hurting services for the more than 2.7 million public school children.
As New York’s elected officials consider options for balancing budgets in the face of record deficits, they should be attuned to opportunities for cost-savings in all areas, no matter how big or small. One approach for identifying potential savings is examining practices in which New York State and its local governments are out of line with their peers.
Pension contributions this year will cost the state government alone $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2010-11 -- an amount already set to grow 85 percent, to $3.2 billion, by 2014. How much higher must it go before the Legislature puts the taxpayers ahead of special interests?
While the State and local governments struggle to pay for current salaries and fringe benefits of public employees and to fully fund the pension system for retirees - resorting to a "borrowing" scheme to stretch out required payments - the State Legislature has remained undeterred in intro
This letter from the CBC urges the Governor to veto A4628, a bill that would renew the provision that prohibits school districts from reducing the health insurance benefits offered to retirees unless the changes are approved by the local teachers union.
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