The $229 billion Enacted Budget for State Fiscal Year 2023-24 includes new recurring spending for schools, mental health services, and health care, as well as resources for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and for emergency rental assistance. While these and other measures will increase spending, revenues are projected to decrease for the second year in a row, as temporary federal aid is depleted and tax collections decline.

The unemployment rate for mothers in New York City has improved but it remains higher than it was prior to the pandemic. In 2022, 5.7% of City moms in the workforce were unemployed compared to 3.4% nationally. Black mothers in the City are the hardest hit, facing an unemployment rate of 9%. Some mothers in the City appear to be looking for flexible options outside full-time work, especially compared to the rest of the State and the nation.

Escalating debt service costs have long been a source of financial pressure at the MTA. The pandemic exacerbated these pressures causing ridership to drop and tax revenues to dry up. However, new sources of recurring revenue in the enacted State budget and other aid give the MTA an opportunity to ease the pressure that growing debt places on its operations and to stabilize its future finances.

Overtime costs at State agencies rose 47.2% to more than $1.36 billion in 2022, setting a new record. Despite several efforts to bolster the workforce, including salary increases and bonuses for a range of positions including health care workers, attrition of the State workforce accelerated in 2021, and the number of State employees continued to drop in 2022. As the State workforce has been reduced, total overtime hours and earnings have increased.

This snapshot highlights the results for counties, cities, towns and villages that reported for local fiscal years ending (FYE) 2021. Overall, the influx of federal pandemic relief aid and rapid recovery of sales tax revenues were significant factors in lowering many municipalities’ fiscal stress scores in FYE 2021, especially for calendar year local governments.

This snapshot highlights the FSMS results for school districts that reported for school fiscal year (SY) 2021-22, which ended on June 30, 2022.  Fewer school districts were scored in fiscal stress in this year than any other year since the System’s inception largely due to increases in State aid and temporary federal aid.

A sample of 95 local governments across New York State reported $1.34 billion in actual and anticipated spending on capital projects over a 10-year period, with about $737 million (55% of the total) in response to climate-related hazards such as increased flooding and storm damage. A review of New York City’s capital commitments for fiscal year 2023 showed that it included $829 million for adaptation and resilience projects, and another $1.3 billion for projects with adaptation and resilience components, with planned commitments averaging more than $1.8 billion per year.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing staffing pressures, particularly a shortage of staff nurses, in NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) facilities, leading to an increased reliance on temporary nurses and higher staffing costs. This report includes a trend analysis of nurses in New York City and the rest of the State, challenges to hire more staff nurses nationwide and the experience of H+H nurse staffing during this time.

The surge in federal spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic significantly improved New York’s per capita ranking in the federal balance of payments from 49th in 2019 to 30th in Federal Fiscal Year 2021. For every dollar New York sent to the federal government in tax receipts, it received $1.51 back in federal spending, as compared to a national average of $1.70. This report is the seventh in a series by the Office of the State Comptroller that examines the flow of funds between the federal government and the states.

This report summarizes data for fiscal year 2021, the most recent data reported by IDAs through the Public Authorities Reporting Information System. The report also contains a brief discussion of local development corporations, a related type of local authority. For IDA-level summary data, see our Interactive Map.