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Testimony
Economic Development
Testimony on Empire Zone Program
Submitted to NY City Council Economic Development Committee
November 24, 2009
The CBC argued that the Empire Zone program's mission has been lost, the program's objectives are not measured consistently, local agencies do not hold firms accountable for the economic commitments they make, and the program is failing to meet the targets firms set when they are approved for benefits.
Testimony
Energy & Environment
Testimony on NY Power Authority Economic Development Programs
Delivered to a Joint Session of State Committees
September 23, 2009
A testimony before a number of State Senate and Assembly committees which reviews the findings of a recent CBC report on the efficacy of NYPA's economic development programs.
Report
Economic Development
Overhauling the New York Power Authority's Economic Development Programs
September 22, 2009
This report focuses on the numerous subsidized power programs for economic development run by the New York Power Authority. It is the second in a series, the intent of which is to identify ways that New York's current tools can be used more effectively.
Report
City Budget
Don’t Step Off the Cliff
Fiscal Cliffs and Budget Gaps in New York City’s Fiscal Year 2025 Preliminary Budget
February 08, 2024
To balance the fiscal year 2025 budget while also ensuring projected spending fully supports all planned programs, the City should implement an additional PEG in the Executive Budget and shrink or eliminate programs that the available resources cannot fully support.
Statement
State Budget
NYS Late Budget Fails to Reduce Structural Gap
$237B of Spending Approved without Providing Financial Plan Tables
April 20, 2024
Three weeks late, State lawmakers finally approved the budget and again have failed to publish basic financial plan tables that show New Yorkers essential details about how their money is being spent this year and the budget’s future impacts.
Blog
Economic Development
Complement, Don't Duplicate
Targeting NYC Small Business Recovery Programs
June 21, 2021
It is critically important for the City to identify potential gaps first by determining which businesses are eligible for which existing programs and whether those programs reasonably meet their needs.
Testimony
Transportation
Public Comment on the Proposed Structure For the Central Business District Tolling Program
Submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
February 29, 2024
While the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) has long held the position that there should not be credits for bridge or tunnel crossings, we believe the Traffic Mobility Review Board’s (TMRB) congestion pricing toll recommendations, as a whole, are reasonable.
Statement
State Budget
Conceptual Budget Agreement Appears to Take State Further in Wrong Direction, Increasing Structural Gap above $16B
Lawmakers Should Show Basic Financial Plans
April 15, 2024
The two-week late “conceptual” budget agreement leaves New York State with a significant future structural budget gap likely exceeding $16 billion.
Report
State Budget
NYS Budget Outlook
Brighter Economy Has Not Closed Gaps; Focus Should Be Spending Restraint, with More Sunshine on Basic Breakouts
March 07, 2024
Continued strength in the economy has improved the tax receipts outlook for the State, but improving tax receipts are not and will not be the entire solution to closing out-year gaps.
Blog
City Budget
Bridge Over Troubled Fiscal Waters?
Only if Federal Aid Is Used Wisely
March 15, 2021
With more than $5 billion in additional federal relief expected to flow to New York City, the appropriate course of action now would be to address the most pressing pandemic and related expenses and responsibly backfill shortfalls in tax revenues temporarily but resist the urge to fund programs with recurring costs without a long run fiscal stability plan.
Letter
State Budget
10 Do's and Don'ts for Spending the Federal Stimulus Funds
February 25, 2009
This letter to the Legislature warns that the federal aid to New York is limited and temporary, suggests ten do’s and don’ts for using the federal funds and closing the budget gap while avoiding harmful cuts and tax increases, and highlights possible allocation of the funds.
Report
City Budget
Unpacking the PEG
Examining the Impact of the NYC November 2023 Financial Plan Savings
January 10, 2024
Agencies should continue to identify efficiency savings that do not affect critical program services.
Letter
State Budget
Recommendations for Legislative Action on the FY2022 NYS Executive Budget
Letter to the State Legislature
March 01, 2021
Prudent use of federal aid would allow the State not only to close the near-term gaps, but stave off the most serious cuts and improve the State’s long run fiscal stability.
Press Release
CBC News
CBC Releases "Unpacking the PEG: Examining the Impact of the NYC November 2023 Financial Plan Savings"
January 10, 2024
Mayor Eric Adams latest round of spending reductions only moderately affects direct services to New Yorkers and chips away at the City’s massive and still-troubling budget gaps.
Statement
City Budget
CBC Statement on NYC’s November 2021 Financial Plan for Fiscal Years 2022 to 2025
November 30, 2021
While the plan reduces the budget gaps to $2.9 billion for next year, $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2024, and $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2025, in reality the gaps are about $750 million higher annually because the plan includes illusionary labor and attrition savings.
Report
State Budget
Up and Away
State Budget Proposals Miss the Mark and Compound Fiscal Problems
March 26, 2024
As New York State lawmakers negotiate the State’s Fiscal Year 2025 Enacted Budget, they risk adding unsustainable spending, driving growth above 6 percent a year, and widening the structural gap to $20.3 billion.
Press Release
CBC News
CBC Releases "Don’t Step Off the Cliff"
February 08, 2024
CBC’s “Don’t Step Off the Cliff” reveals that fiscal year 2025 planned spending is $3.6 billion short of what would be needed to fund the current level of programs and expenses.
Report
City Budget
Real Numbers, Real Choices
Recommendations for a Clearer Fiscal View in the NYC Executive Budget
April 18, 2024
New York City’s long-run fiscal stability is precarious, and its short-term prospects are uncertain. Major causes of this uncertainty are revenue estimates that may be unreasonably conservative and spending estimates for current programs that are alarmingly understated.
Statement
City Budget
Statement on the NYC Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2022
June 30, 2021
Despite fiscal year 2021 tax revenues being $2.1 billion more than previously expected and $15 billion in additional federal aid, the budget hamstrings the next Administration with sizable future budget gaps.
Report
Education
Target and Tighten
The Sustainable Path for School Aid Growth in New York
March 13, 2024
The State’s burgeoning SOF spending has widened budget gaps. Spending restraint is needed to close those gaps, and that will only be accomplished by limiting growth in school aid, which is nearly 30 percent of SOF spending.