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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