New York City forecasts a surplus of $965 million in the fiscal year ending in June 2022, based largely on the receipt of $750 million in unrestricted federal aid, and projects outyear gaps to drop by nearly a third from earlier estimates. Despite the positive news, the Office of the State Comptroller has identified several risks that could pose challenges to the City’s budget in the future.
Statewide local sales tax collections grew by 17.5% in November compared to the same month in 2020. Overall, local collections totaled almost $1.6 billion, up $235 million from November of last year. Collections for the month were also notably robust when compared to pre-pandemic levels, up 9.2% (or $133 million) from November of 2019.
Monthly enrollment in the Medicaid program has grown by about 5 percent per year since January 2007, and exceeded 7 million for the first time in February 2021. This report discusses the factors that have driven growth in Medicaid enrollment and the resulting cost impacts, the relationship between Medicaid enrollment and economic indicators, and the cost implications if the Division of the Budget's anticipated enrollment reductions fail to materialize.
Flushing, and the surrounding neighborhoods that make up the greater Flushing area, enjoyed outsized employment and business growth from 2000 until Queens became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local challenges that existed before the pandemic, such as affordable housing and broadband access, have made recovery more difficult, but key positive indicators such as job recovery are reasons for optimism.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is facing significant long-term financial challenges, including risks to its capital plan and pressure from escalating debt, while the impacts of climate change demand a sharper focus on preparation for and response to extreme weather events. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act offers a boost for the agency’s capital plan, but also heightens the need for appropriate prioritization of capital projects.
Businesses in New York were more severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 than in the rest of the nation, and the negative impacts on small businesses with less than 500 employees persist. In addition, small businesses report facing new challenges with hiring difficulties and with supply chains. Nevertheless, one in five small businesses reported a return to normal operations in October 2021, there have been significant improvements in several sectors, and applications for new businesses are surging, which bodes well for the economic recovery.
Local sales tax collections in New York grew by 12.9% in October compared to a year ago, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced. Collections for all localities totaled more than $1.5 billion, up $175 million from October 2020.
The Office of the New York State Comptroller conducted a series of five audits designed to examine State agencies’ compliance with EO 95 to improve accountability and support continuous improvement of Open Data, increasing its benefits to the public and government entities.
