Governor Andrew Cuomo is making a big deal out of the failure of a congressional “super committee” to produce a deal on reducing the federal budget deficit. This is supposed to trigger $1.2 trillion in across-the-board federal budget cuts over a 10-year period beginning in 2013—which, Cuomo said yesterday, could translate into $5 billion in lost federal funding for New York. Read More
New York’s highest court has just ruled—not for the first time—that Article VII, Section 8.1 of the State Constitution does not mean what it seems to say in prohibiting gifts and loans of state money “to or in aid of any private corporation or association, or private undertaking.” Read More
New York’s highest state court has ruled that a broad “no layoff” clause in a public-sector labor contract cannot necessarily be used to prevent job eliminations by a government employer. Read More
So, here’s a non-surprise: The financial outlook for New York’s state government has deteriorated in the past few months, according to the Mid-Year Financial Plan Update from the Division of the Budget (DOB). Read More
Property tax burdens in New York’s counties, based on U.S. Census data crunched by the Tax Foundation, are presented in an online map widget unveiled yesterday as part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s new “CitizenConnects” program. Read More
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Sifma) held its . Speakers' outlooks on the financial industry bode poorly for New York's economy. "I think we will see a lot more cost cutting," said Toos Daruvala, director of banking an Read More
New York doesn't look so hot in the just-released 2011 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) report cards in and , designed to show "what America's students know and can do in various subject areas." Generally, the trending shows impr Read More
New York is at the top of the debt list in the latest U.S. Census data on state and local government finances. As of 2009, New York’s state and local long-term indebtedness came to $15,202 per-capita, more than any state and 74 percent above the national average. Read More
Some leaders of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) union received double-digit raises -- despite a faltering economy, the Albany Times Union . But at least these union bosses aren't paid with taxpayer money... Oh, wait, union pr Read More
It’s no surprise that some New York’s local governments are choosing to override the state’s new property tax cap. The real news is that the vast majority — so far — apparently are managing to live within it. Read More
As public pension costs continue to rise, straining municipal budgets to the breaking point, New York City Comptroller John Liu has emerged as a stalwart defender of the status quo. Liu doesn’t deny that tax-funded pension costs are exploding; instead, he says the traditional defined-benefit system offers “a better bang for the buck.” Read More
New York City public advocate Bill de Blasio thinks they are, at least to some extent. The advocate's office announced yesterday that it was into the amount of time it takes NYC agencies to answer Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests. At th Read More