"By promoting financial and ethical responsibility for all elected officials and committing to meaningful change, Citizens Budget Commission has enriched our democratic society and the quality of life for all citizens." State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
One place where the State can extract savings is in its prison system, an option that this op-ed discusses. New York simply does not need all 69 of its correctional facilities. Some of those facilities are now more than half-empty, particularly at the medium- and minimum-security level.
The months between the fall of 2007 and the adoption of New York State’s next annual budget in March 2008 are a critical juncture in the efforts to “fix Albany.” The process by which the next budget is prepared and debated, as well as the substantive decisions it embodies, are critical to the movement for political and fiscal reform in New York State.
This background paper focuses on the issue of more effective use of state fiscal resources. It was prepared to inform discussion among the participants at the second of the three agenda-setting conferences organized by CBC in the months of September, October and November 2007 to promote fiscal reform. The paper is organized into two sections.
Following up on its previous research on the issues surrounding the State Court’s decision in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case, CBC hosted two expert panel discussions focusing on key issues in education finance reform. This brief recounts the proceedings from the second of those discussions, which took place on April 27, 2006.
CBC recommends reforms to improve efficiencies in education spending to offset the additional spending required under the Campaign for Fiscal Equity settlement.
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