Fast Facts
  • 77%
    Amount by which New York's annual Medicaid spending per elderly enrollee exceeded the national average in 2007.

New York City Is Not Alone

Nov 17, 2011

The Office of the New York City Actuary is expected to recommend changes to the assumptions used to calculate the City’s annual pension costs.  These changed assumptions will have an impact on the amount the City is required to contribute to its employee pension funds.

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.

What Concessions?

Aug 29, 2011

In the last two months, the Bloomberg Administration announced two agreements with municipal unions.  These agreements have been heralded as union-labor compromises to prevent the planned layoff of more than 5,000 employees.

New York City’s Adopted Budget: Missed Opportunities

Jul 06, 2011

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.

State Agreement Is a Template to Avoid City Layoffs

Jun 23, 2011

Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) reached a preliminary five-year contractual agreement that provides substantial savings for New York State and, if adopted by other State employee unions, could spare 9,800 employees from the pain of layoffs.  In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the City Council and municipal unions continue to look

Possible City Savings From Health Insurance Changes

Jun 20, 2011

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:

The Case Against Tapping the Health Insurance Premium Stabilization Fund

Jun 15, 2011

The Mayor, City Council members and labor leaders are actively discussing ways to prevent the layoffs and cuts proposed to balance the budget in fiscal year 2012. One option under consideration is diverting money from the Health Insurance Premium Stabilization Fund.

Resist the Temptation

Mar 23, 2011

New York City Budget Director Mark Page testified this week that additional cuts to services may be necessary.  The current financial plan, released on February 17th, showed the City in a relatively good financial position, but still relies on State action worth $600 million to close the budget gap for fiscal year 2012.   In the event the State does not restore some of

The New York City Budget Since the Recession: Seven Rounds of Cuts and the Deepest Still to Come

Feb 07, 2011

The dramatic aid reductions proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in his Executive Budget on February 1 are likely to lead to cuts in spending by New York City agencies. These forthcoming cuts should be understood in the context of previous efforts to reduce municipal spending.

Delaying the Pain: The truth about cost-cutting in New York City's November Plan

Dec 16, 2010

Readers of this blog have probably heard about new and increased fees and charges that the Mayor included in the November budget modification to help close the looming $4.5 billion fiscal year 2012 budget gap: increased parking meter fees, higher charges for parks and recreation permits, a proposal to charge insured motorists who get into accidents for emergency response services.  During

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