Budget & Finances

Fiscal Stress Monitoring System – School Districts: Fiscal Year 2022-23 Results

This snapshot highlights the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System (FSMS) results for school districts that reported for school fiscal year (SY) 2022-23, which ended on June 30, 2023. Increases to federal pandemic relief aid and the State fully funding foundation aid kept many districts out of a stress designation. For SY 2022-23, sixteen school districts were designated as being in stress—the second-lowest number since the system was created. The report also includes a look at districts that have been chronically stressed over the eleven years since FSMS began.

As Personal Income Tax Checkoffs Increase in Number, Disbursements Lag for Most Funds

New York State has the highest number of personal income tax checkoffs in the nation, but even as the number of checkoffs have grown over the last decade, only a fraction of the money has been actually spent on their target purposes each year. Agencies need to comply with reporting requirements to provide greater clarity on why spending from the funds is lagging.

“Unwinding” Continuous Enrollment in Medicaid Presents Coverage and Financial Risks

Since early 2020, enrollees in New York Medicaid have not had to renew their coverage due to COVID-19 public health emergency. With federal legislation ending continuous Medicaid coverage in March 2023, New York State began the process of redetermining eligibility for every enrolled individual. Based on recent trends, this report estimates “unwinding” may not meet projections in the Division of the Budget’s Mid-Year Update to the Enacted Budget Financial Plan, adding costs to the State budget.

Review of the Financial Plan of the City of New York, December 2023

New York City faces spending risks that could increase its budget gaps for Fiscal Years 2025 through 2027 to an average of $12.6 billion annually, fueled by spending choices made during the pandemic, underbudgeting for recurring spending, and significant costs associated with the influx of asylum seekers into the five boroughs. While many of the fiscal challenges facing the City are not in its direct control, preparation and transparency remain paramount to navigating this uncertainty.

MTA’s Paratransit Program: An Overview, November 2023

Costs for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) program to provide transportation services for people with disabilities have declined in recent years, in part due to the MTA’s move to alternative transit services that provided $102.7 million in savings in 2022. Still, some measures of customer satisfaction initially deteriorated as a result of the move to “broker services” and must be monitored to ensure quality service.

Issue Brief: New York City Health + Hospitals

New York City Health + Hospitals (H+H) is the largest municipal public health system in the country and the City’s largest provider of care to Medicaid patients, mental health patients, and uninsured patients. This brief highlights the latest issues confronting H+H, including operations after the public health emergency, the asylum seeker and migrant response, funding and nurse staffing.

Issue Brief: New York City Housing Authority

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the nation’s largest public housing authority, is also the City’s largest landlord (maintaining 7.1 percent of all rental apartments) and its greatest source of affordable housing, with 177,569 apartments in its portfolio. This brief highlights the latest issues confronting NYCHA, including declining rent collections, capital needs, maintenance issues, and more.

Issue Brief: New York City Department of Education

The Department of Education (DOE) is the largest public school system in the nation. This brief highlights the latest issues confronting DOE, including unbudgeted spending on enrolled children of migrants and asylum seekers, the declining enrollment of K-12 students since the pandemic, the State's mandate on lowering class sizes, and more.

Agency Services Monitoring Tool

The Office of the New York State Comptroller developed a tool that displays performance indicators, staffing levels and spending commitments assigned to a New York City service since January 2020. While there are many factors that affect service demand and provision, the tool can provide some insight on existing operational or budgetary phenomena or the emergence of potential risks to the City’s budget and the provision of certain services.