An annual rite of spring in NYC has been the often contentious debate over the setting of the rate customers will pay for the city's water and sewer system in the coming fiscal year. Since 1995 the rate has increased
every year, some years by as much as 10 percent or more. The de Blasio Administration recently made its first water rate proposal calling for an increase of 3.35 percent.
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 amount the city budgets each year for snow removal is set by a formula in the City Charter. The formula is the average of spending on snow removal in the five prior years—so the budget for 2014 is based on the actual amounts spent in fiscal years 2008–2012.
To assess whether elementary grade students in charter schools leave their schools any more frequently than students in traditional public schools, IBO examined a cohort of students who
entered kindergarten in September 2008 and followed them through third grade. This involved tracking data on 3,043 students in 53 charter schools and 7,208 students in 116 traditional public
schools nearest to each charter.
When Mayor Bloomberg presented his last budget plan in November, he noted that the city’s full-time and full-time
equivalent headcount had fallen by 15,368 since December 31, 2001. But staffing levels since the end of fiscal year 2002, tell a different story.
Report focuses on the allocation and uses of resources for various competing budget priorities, including the various options available for saving money and raising revenue, as well as the weighed/approximated costs and benefits for each option.