Friday, December 13, 2013

LIU ISSUES ANNUAL ECONOMIC FORECAST; WARNS OF SEVERE RISKS HIDDEN IN CITY BUDGET


  In his annual report on the State of the City’s Economy and Finances, City Comptroller John C. Liu warns that the unresolved contracts with every one of the City’s municipal unions pose a great financial risk to the City in the coming years.
Currently all of the City’s municipal unions are working under expired contracts. If the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA) alone are awarded retroactive pay raises, it could cost the City $3.495 billion in FY 2014.
“The City’s budget is not truly balanced until this issue is resolved,” said Comptroller Liu. “This is a problem that will not go away simply by ignoring it, as the outgoing administration has done.”
On the positive side, the comptroller anticipates robust growth with tax revenues in the current fiscal year, exceeding the mayor’s forecast by $724 million.  The estimate for personal income tax (PIT) receipts exceeds the mayor’s forecast by $528 million.
The report shows that more than 300,000 jobs have been added in New York City since the worst of the recession, with strong growth in the health, technology, and education sectors. The City’s total private-sector employment now stands above its pre-recession peak.  At the same time, even with record levels of employment, the City’s unemployment rate remains unacceptably high at a seasonally adjusted 8.7 percent and wages have not kept up with inflation. Many fully-employed families are less well off than they were five years ago.
This annual report on the State of the City’s Economy and Finances is due from the comptroller each Dec. 15, as mandated by the City Charter. Comptroller Liu will publicly present his State of the City address on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. at the Emigrant Bank Building, 49-51 Chambers Street.


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