The Times Union published an op-ed from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today.

Commentary: A path to comprehensive state debt reform

Last month, the U.S. reached its debt limit, forcing the Treasury Department to take extraordinary measures as Congress debates potential action. These high-stakes decision points have become increasingly common in the last decade, making federal spending and debt front-page news.

In contrast, state and local finances, and particularly debt, rarely receive that level of public attention.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced a series of shareholder proposals filed at several major companies on workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. The proposals were filed with Walmart Inc., CVS Pharmacy Inc., Netflix Inc., DoorDash Inc. and Gannett Co.

Local government sales tax collections in New York state totaled $22.1 billion in calendar year 2022, up 12.7%, or $2.5 billion, from 2021 due to strong sales statewide, especially in New York City, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

The New York State Thruway Authority (Thruway) has proposed a multi-year schedule of systemwide toll increases to begin in 2024, but a new report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli identifies concerns with the proposal and urges the Thruway to first improve its operations and maximize non-toll revenues. DiNapoli’s office reviewed a decade of the Thruway’s finances and the toll hike proposal and found gaps in essential information necessary to evaluate the proposal.

Like many cities across the United States, New York City has adjusted its budget priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic to help address pressing needs, but some new critical programs and services may face fiscal cliffs, according to a new report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The report compared the city’s pre-pandemic and current preliminary budgets for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) to examine how spending priorities shifted.

In December, the Office of the State Comptroller approved 1,605 contracts for state agencies and public authorities valued at $3.7 billion and approved more than 1.7 million payments worth nearly $17 billion. The office rejected 134 contracts and related transactions valued at $244 million and nearly 1,900 payments valued at nearly $39.6 million, primarily for mistakes, insufficient support for charges, and improper payments. More information on these contracts and payments is available at Open Book New York.

“Governor Hochul introduced her executive budget while many New Yorkers continue to struggle to make ends meet and concerns of a recession grow. Inflation is still too high, and New York still has not regained all the jobs lost during the pandemic. Federal relief aid has provided critical support to the state budget, but will be depleted by the end of the financial plan. New York needs to fund essential programs and services that support quality of life in our state, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of the state’s finances.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the promotion of Sylvester (Sly) McClearn to interim director of the New York State Common Retirement Fund’s (Fund) Emerging Manager Program.

New York state has one of the nation’s highest debt levels, largely because measures to restrict the excessive use of debt have been circumvented over the years in state budgets. Since the Debt Reform Act was passed in 2000, state-supported debt outstanding increased by $25 billion. Over the next five years, this debt is projected by the Division of the Budget to increase by $26 billion, or 42%, from $61.9 billion in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021-22 to $88 billion in SFY 2026-27.

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