Before Mayor Bloomberg established the 311 call line, the city relied on 40 help lines in order to handle complaints. IBO reviews the amount of spending for 311 call lines and provides more information on the call center.
The Administration for Children's Services lists assistance to prevent the need for foster care as one of four components of its child welfare service system. The transition from a system that emphasizes foster care to one that focuses on preventing the need for foster care has been unsteady. This report looks at changes in the city's foster care and preventive services programs over the last decade, including enrollment, spending, and funding.
In recent years, the City Council and de Blasio Administration have greatly expanded the funding for legal services for low-income New Yorkers facing civil proceedings in court. IBO examines how this funding for civil legal assistance has grown.
FISCAL OUTLOOK: IBO's annual report on the city's outlook for the years ahead features our latest economic forecast and includes projections of job growth as well as updated tax revenue estimates for this fiscal year and through 2020. In addition, the report presents IBO's re-estimates of city expenditures based on the Mayor's November financial plan and our projection for budget surpluses and gaps in 2017 through 2020.
A key part of the Mayor Adam's Program to the Eliminate the Gap (PEG) is budgeted headcount reductions. IBO examines how other actions contained within the budget affect the number of headcount reductions the Mayor proposes to make.
There’s been much attention over the past year to how much the city spends on the police department. But policing is only one part, albeit a large one, of a bigger system that includes the courts, detention & related functions. We look at the full cost of the justice system and how much it has grown
IBO has substantially revised and updated its guide to the city's capital budget. The readable, full-color guide outlines the key components of the capital budget and the timeline and process for adopting it. The guide also provides an overview of how the city raises capital funds and how those dollars are spent.
In this brief, IBO examines this operating support and identifies risks that the city’s public hospital system is facing that may make city subsidies in the future even more critical.
Despite the increased number of jobs in New York City between 2011 and 2012, employment of city residents did not increase, leaving the unemployment rate high and leading to an analysis of these contradictory statistics.
A letter from Ronnie Lowenstein to Gene Russianoff talking about the review and analysis of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's fiscal projections.
FOCUS ON THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET: This Report presents IBO's latest economic and revenue forecast, including projections for job and wage growth and real estate sales in the city. Get the detailed projections and analysis.
FOCUS ON THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET: The Mayor proposes a faster roll-out of his 3-k initiative and continues to consolidate early education programs in the Department of Education.
FOCUS ON THE EXECUTIVE BUDGET: Summer programs canceled, pools closed. A pandemic and budget shortfalls may lead to a summer of discontent—but substantial savings for the city.
REPORT: The number of children in the city's subsidized child care programs has been shrinking in recent years with the implementation of Early Learn and the increased availability of pre-k for 4-year-olds and after-school programs for school-age children that offer alternatives to traditional child care. We look at the changes over the past five years-and with an eye towards new initiatives such as 3-K for All that could present further challenges to the traditional child care programs.
The Adams Administration added funds for homeless shelter costs in the Preliminary Budget. IBO estimates that additional funds for shelter will be necessary, and that the city will also need to increase budgeted amounts for its homeless outreach and its housing voucher programs in fiscal year 2023.
REPORT: With City Hall set to name a property tax reform commission, IBO has run the numbers for two scenarios that address a couple of key disparities in residential property tax burdens. We do this while keeping total taxes collected revenue neutral, as the Mayor has urged. So who wins and who loses?
In 2017, the city changed its primary program for helping to get cash assistance recipients into jobs. After an initial decline, are more cash assistance recipients now finding jobs?
Following with the City Council's Safe Housing Act, the Alternative Enforcement Program was implemented by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The purpose of this program was to improve the conditions of the city's rundown apartment buildings. Landlords have four months to fix their rundown apartments. After those four months, the city will reinspect the building, repair it, and send the bill to the owner, who will have to repay the city.
In this new report we present the details of our latest economic forecast & projections of tax revenue and spending based on the Mayor’s Preliminary Budget for 2021 and financial plan through 2024.
With the Governor's recent proposal, the now lapsed 421-a tax break for housing is again a major focus of the public policy agenda. Despite the fact that 421-a costs the city a considerable amount in foregone tax dollars--$1.4 billion this fiscal year due to prior commitments--there has been little research examining the tax break's effect on housing prices and whether the tax benefit efficiently fosters housing development, the 421-a program's primary goal. We explore these questions in regard to condos receiving 421-a benefits.
IBO's review of the tax break, under Local Law 18 of 2017, was released as NYC Council is about to consider MSG’s DCP application to renew its zoning special permit. It also coincides with a reignited debate on the future of the beleaguered & over-capacity Penn Station that lies below MSG.
IBO has produced a new economic and tax revenue forecast for the city as well as re-estimated city expenditures based on the Mayor's Preliminary Budget for 2018 and Financial Plan Through 2021. An overview of our findings.
FOCUS ON THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET: IBO has produced a new economic and tax revenue forecast for the city as well as re-estimated city expenditures based on the Mayor's Preliminary Budget for 2019 and Financial Plan Through 2022. An overview of our findings.
This report is IBO's analysis of the Mayor's Preliminary Budget for 2008 and Financial Plan through 2011. It contains IBO's forecasts and examinations of key budget proposals made by the Mayor.
This report provides IBO's analysis of the Mayor's Preliminary Budget for 2009 and Financial Plan through 2012. The report includes our own economic and revenue forecasts and examines the Bloomberg
Administration's key budget proposals. It also highlights some of the fiscal issues facing the city, questions that become increasingly difficult as resources become more scarce.
This report, by the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO), analyzes the Mayor's Preliminary Budget for 2010 and Financial Plan through 2013. The IBO compares their economic and revenue forecasts against the Mayor's, as well as examines his key budget proposals.
This report by the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) shows the reestimate of the Mayor's preliminary budget for 2014 and financial plan through 2017. Included are detailed data on projections for revenues and expenditures, as well as comparisons on forecasts between IBO and the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget.
The city is currently in relatively good fiscal condition, due to steps to cut costs and raise revenue. However, the Mayor's budget does not address potential new problems, leaving pressure against City Hall to ensure the preservation of programs that will be affected by these problems. Economic uncertainties threaten the city and can affect the city's employment growth and tax revenues.
This is IBO's review of the Mayor's Preliminary Budget for 2015 and Financial Plan through 2018. The report reflects state issues that are affecting the City budget presented in Mayor de Blasio's plan.
The tumbling stock market has inevitably taken a toll on the value of the city’s pension funds. That means the city may have to increase its contributions to the funds by tens of million—if not hundreds of millions--of dollars in the coming years. We look at a few scenarios.
Appendix - Methodological Notes - Provides background information and additional detail regarding the assumptions and methodology used in IBO's analysis of the Chapter 96 reopener legislation.
Are children born later in the year more likely to be identified as students with disabilities than children born in earlier months? Amy Zimmer of Chalkbeat asked and IBO explored the data.
This report addresses the questions regarding the funding of vocational high schools and related matters. It includes information regarding the recent funding and spending trends of the City and the status of the schools that meet state and federal standards.
Kindergarteners attending public school in NYC must apply through DOE’s centralized kindergarten choice process. While most students apply to zoned school, they can also apply to out-of-zone schools. School performance is likely a factor in a family’s decision to apply out-of-zone.
Under federal and state law, families with young children receiving cash assistance and participating in work or training programs are guaranteed vouchers to pay for their choice of child care providers.
Are the city’s more than 70 public hospitals and clinics located in neighborhoods with heavy concentrations of the uninsured? IBO has mapped the location of public hospital facilities and the share of uninsured in the city’s 59 community districts.
More than half (51.3 percent) of the state’s lowest income part-time workers—those with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level—resided in New York City in 2012
The number of hospitalizations at public and voluntary hospitals in New York City has been declining for some time, falling from 1.3 million hospitalizations in 2009 to 1.1 million in 2014.
Preliminary data for fiscal year 2014 indicate the city received about $41 million in revenue from camera-generated redlight, bus-lane, and now speeding summonses, as well as $14 million in ticket revenue from traffic violations written up by police officers.
Whether students with disabilities were recommended a paraprofessional differed based on the type of disability classification and the borough where the student attended school.
Although students with disabilities comprised about 18 percent of the overall student body in school year 2012-2013, they made up about 30 percent of the suspended student population (defined as the population of students who have been suspended at least one time).
Have inspections for rats by the health department’s Bureau of Veterinary and Pest Control Services been increasing? We track changes in the number of initial inspections citywide and by borough.
FOCUS ON THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET: As the city and state debate who is going to pay for public transportation improvements, IBO examines some proposed funding options and possible financial consequences for the city.
REPORT: IBO provides an update on costs related to the development of Hudson Yards. Our report also examines the recent refinancing of much of the city-subsidized debt for the extension of the No. 7 line along with some other work to foster commercial and residential construction on the Far West Side.
REPORT: IBO provides an update on costs related to the development of Hudson Yards. Our report also examines the recent refinancing of much of the city-subsidized debt for the extension of the No. 7 line along with some other work to foster commercial and residential construction on the Far West Side.
NYC BY THE NUMBERS: Subway ridership is way down. Which stations have seen the biggest declines in passenger entrances and what might plummeting ridership mean in terms of lost revenue for NYC Transit?
The number of students in the city’s public schools who lived for some part of the school year in New York’s homeless shelters during school year 2015-2016 rose by more than 4,000, or 15 percent, over the preceding year to nearly 33,000.
Through NYC's “Schoolyards to Playgrounds” program, the public can access some school playgrounds & yards during non-school hours. At the request of CM Gale Brewer, IBO examined how many school buildings are currently participating in the program & the cost to add those that aren't.
Anticipating a reduction in rental income, NYC sharply reduced the assessments used to calculate ‘22 tax bills. These reductions turned out to be an overestimate & the ’23 tax roll now reflects this as projected growth. IBO examines the reason for the change.
PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOCUS: The Covid-driven tailspin in the local economy has led to a big drop in expected property tax revenue next year. We explain how the finance department derives the market and assessed values underlying the falloff in projected revenue.
The Bloomberg Administration issued its update of the budget for this fiscal year and financial plan for the ensuing years through 2015. The understated release reflects a
budget plan that appears to leave the city idling at a fiscal crossroads as Bloomberg Administration scans ahead, trying to discern where the roads may lead.
Memorandum: Audit: Review, Evaluation, and Monitoring of Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response Practices
New York City Independent Budget Office from the New York City Equal Employment Practices Commission
This presentation answers questions regarding the resources available to high schools, addressing concerns about the availability of course offerings beyond the minimum standard for graduation, the availability of specialized rooms for certain courses and the availability of nonclassroom support services. This was produced at the request of the Ailliance for Quality Education.
PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOCUS: Even with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on track to receive $6.5 billion in additional federal aid, there is still potential trouble ahead—for the authority and the city.
For years the city's real property transfer tax and mortgage recording tax, often referred to collectively as the transfer taxes, were a predictable source of city revenue.
Under the city’s borough-based jails plan, Rikers Island will be replaced by jails in 4 of the 5 boroughs. The plan aims to create smaller & safer jails that allow people in custody to be closer to the courts where their cases are heard and their communities. IBO examines how these 2 goals overlap
A brief Explainer on Units of Appropriation, the most granular level of detail City Council approves in the budget resolutions. IBO also highlights the inherent tension between the Mayor and City Council over them.
The release last week of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's preliminary budget for 2012 and financial plan through 2015 prompted renewed concerns
over the agency's fiscal outlook. Transportation budget analysts have been praticularly critical of the amount of borrowing in the plan and the assumption of no wage increases
for the authority's workforce.
This article presents the budget challenges faced by the City in the upcoming fiscal year. The City faces challenges arising from rising pension costs and the expiration of federal funding, which makes it more difficult to keep the budget balanced.
FOCUS ON THE EXECUTIVE BUDGET: The Mayor’s budget for Vision Zero includes a relatively small cut in the Department of Transportation’s expense budget but an increase in capital spending.
The Mayor’s Preliminary Budget proposes the elimination of nearly 300 vacant school safety agent positions. In this report, IBO explores these changes in budgeted and actual staffing.
BUDGET OPTIONS FOR NYC: We present 14 more ways the city can cut costs or raise revenue, with some pro and cons for each of the measures. Our compilation now includes more than 100 budget options.
We’ve updated and reformulated our compendium of ways the city can raise money or cut spending. Budget Options for New York City is now designed as a web-based publication. This enables us to update budget options or add new ones as circumstances change or new information becomes available.
With the release of our latest edition of Budget Options for New York City , IBO looks at dozens of ways to reduce city spending or raise revenues through tax, fee, or fine increases. As in past editions, a basic description of each budget option is presented along with a side-by-side discussion of key arguments for and against each measure's implementation.
IBO presents 10 new ways NYC can cut costs or raise revenue. As with all of our 100+ options, we neither endorse nor reject the ideas. See the descriptions & estimates of revenues/savings, with pros & cons for each option.
For each of IBO’s more than 100 budget options, including the new ones and many that have been recently updated, we outline key arguments for and against the proposals along with estimates of their potential to save or raise city funds.
Budget Options are policy ideas that have the potential to create savings or new revenue for the City. Every year, IBO publishes an updated volume to help spark policy discussions throughout New York City.
This report lists the budget options the City faces after the recession. The recession caused the loss of a significant amount of state aid and federal cutbacks, as well as growing pension and health expenditures, debt service, and other costs. These problems must be rectified and the options listed are potential solutions.