In March, the Office of the State Comptroller approved 1,950 contracts for state agencies and public authorities valued at $3.6 billion and approved nearly 3.7 million payments worth nearly $35.1 billion. The office rejected 147 contracts and related transactions valued at $1.4 billion and more than 9,100 payments valued at more than $30.9 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.

Local government sales tax collections grew by 21.1%, or $901 million, in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, according to a report released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Collections for the three-month period totaled nearly $5.2 billion, with growth at least partially driven by inflation, which hit a 40-year-high in March.

“New York City released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Executive Budget today, totaling $99.7 billion, allocating funds to newly announced agency initiatives and addressing a number of risks in the budget.

"The city’s short-term finances have improved dramatically from budget adoption and still has room to improve before the end of the year.

Despite unprecedented federal aid and better-than-expected state tax revenues, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) continues to plan to use borrowing techniques that push difficult financial decisions into the future and could leave less money to pay for services, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s annual report on the MTA’s debt.

Crain’s New York Business published an op-ed from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today on the need for greater transparency and accountability in budgeting for the use of federal relief funds. The full op-ed is below:

What Are New Yorkers Getting From Federal Covid Relief Funds?

The new state budget reflects robust tax revenue growth and an unprecedented infusion of federal money.

Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates consumer prices grew by 6.1% in the New York City Metropolitan Area in March 2022 compared to the same month one year ago, driven by double-digit increases in the costs of energy and transportation. Despite lagging inflation growth nationally and in other large metro areas, NYC metro area price increases appear poised to outstrip earnings growth.

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

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

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued the following statement today following Amazon’s agreement to conduct and publicly release an independent racial equity audit, led by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, that will look into “disparate racial impacts” from its employment practices on its hourly workers. As a result of the agreement, DiNapoli and the New York State Common Retirement Fund will withdraw the shareholder proposal they had filed for consideration at Amazon’s annual meeting on May 25.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced that Jennifer Colucci, 41, of Hopewell Junction, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $86,000 in tax funds collected for the use of the town of Beekman and its schools. This plea was a result of a joint investigation between Comptroller DiNapoli’s Office, the New York State Police and Dutchess County D.A. William Grady.