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NEWS from the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Contact: Press Office 518-474-4015

New York City Budget Balanced But Economic Risks Have Grown

New York City ended fiscal year (FY) 2019 with a surplus of $4.2 billion, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The surplus was generated by higher than expected revenues, especially tax collections, the city’s savings program and unneeded reserves in that year.

DiNapoli: Local Sales Tax Growth Slows During First Half of 2019

Local sales tax collections for the first two quarters of 2019 grew at a moderate pace compared to the stronger early quarters of 2018, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“Rising sales tax collections are very important for New York’s local governments. But recently, these revenues have been growing more slowly,” DiNapoli said. “These latest results should remind officials to closely watch future collections and plan accordingly.”

DiNapoli Audit: MTA Transit Capital Projects Plagued by Cost Overruns and Delays

A review of six Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (Transit) capital projects found errors throughout the project pipeline that contributed to delays and higher costs, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Many of the problems were tied to MTA’s failure to follow its own procedures or properly oversee contractors.

Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal Audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government audits have been issued.

Town of Crown Point – Town Clerk/Tax Collector (Essex County)

The clerk did not remit real property taxes totaling nearly $1.4 million in 2017 and 2018 to the town supervisor or county treasurer each week, as required by law. The clerk also did not always deposit clerk fees within the required timeframe or remit them to the supervisor in a timely manner.

State Contract and Payment Actions in June

In June, the Office of the State Comptroller approved 1,481 contracts for state agencies and public authorities valued at nearly $1.8 billion and approved nearly 1.7 million payments worth more than $10.5 billion. The office rejected 131 contracts and related transactions valued at $980 million and nearly 1,600 payments valued at more than $9.8 million. More information on these contracts and payments is available at www.openbooknewyork.com.

DiNapoli Finds Schools Falling Short on Emergency Planning

Schools are not doing enough to prepare for emergency situations like shootings, according to an audit of safety planning at 19 schools released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Auditors found none of the schools met the minimum planning or training requirements of the State Education Department (SED), which oversees safety planning for schools. Alarmingly, two schools did not have district-wide safety plans even though plans were mandated nearly 20 years ago.

New York Leads Nation in Nonprofit Jobs & Wages

New York led the nation in nonprofit employment with more than 1.4 million jobs and total wages of just over $78 billion in 2017, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. New York’s nonprofit organizations helped stabilize employment during and after the Great Recession.