New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams sent a letter to the Mayor, Speaker, and Commissioner of the Department of Finance today indicating that, in accordance with Section 1518 of the City Charter and in light of the ongoing court battle over the Department of Education budget, he will not be signing the FY2023 property tax warrant at this time.
Following the recent State Supreme Court ruling in Williams v. City Of New York, it was confirmed that the administration has in the past been out of compliance with the City Charter through filing improperly executed warrants without the Public Advocate’s signature, and that the Public Advocate has a responsibility to “investigate and otherwise attempt to resolve” public complaints.
"My office has received and continues to receive public complaints from New Yorkers voicing their concerns and objections to the FY23 education budget cuts, including complaints about the Administration’s failure to meet with the Panel for Education Policy prior to submitting the FY23 education budget for Council adoption. As the Public Advocate for the City of New York, I am charged with the duty of investigating these complaints and following the constantly developing formal and informal attempts to resolve the FY23 education budget cuts matter,” said the Public Advocate in his letter. “While I can reassure you of my commitment to work efficiently to resolve these issues, including signing the FY 23 tax warrant, my obligations pursuant to Section 1518 of the New York City Charter to sign the property tax warrant submitted on June 13, 2022 must not jeopardize my responsibilities under Section 24 of the New York City Charter to properly “investigate and otherwise attempt to resolve” complaints made by the public with regards to the adopted budget and appurtenant tax warrants.”
The full text of the Public Advocate's letter to the administration is below, and can be downloaded here.
RE: Fiscal Year 2023 Property Tax Warrant
Dear Mayor Adams, Speaker Adams, and Commissioner Nisblack:
On August 10, 2022, I signed and returned the tax warrants for FY21 and FY22. However,
pursuant to my obligations under Section 24 of the New York City Charter, I am unable to sign the FY23 tax warrant at this time due to ongoing reviews of constituent complaints concerning the FY23 adopted budget. My office has received and continues to receive public complaints from New Yorkers voicing their concerns and objections to the FY23 education budget cuts, including complaints about the Administration’s failure to meet with the Panel for Education Policy prior to submitting the FY23 education budget for Council adoption. As the Public Advocate for the City of New York, I am charged with the duty of investigating these complaints and following the constantly developing formal and informal attempts to resolve the FY23 education budget cuts matter.
While I can reassure you of my commitment to work efficiently to resolve these issues,
including signing the FY 23 tax warrant, my obligations pursuant to Section 1518 of the New York City Charter to sign the property tax warrant submitted on June 13, 2022 must not jeopardize my responsibilities under Section 24 of the New York City Charter to properly “investigate and otherwise attempt to resolve” complaints made by the public with regards to the adopted budget and appurtenant tax warrants. (Charter of the City of New York §24(f)(4)). To that end, as the Court made clear in its recent decision NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams v. City of New York, Index # 152366/2021, you are prohibited from filing the tax warrant without my signature pursuant to Section 1518.
I would like to set up a meeting with you at your very earliest convenience, mindful of time
being of the essence with regards to these issues so that these complaints can be resolved and I can sign the FY23 property tax warrant.
I thank you in advance and ask that you contact First Deputy Public Advocate Nick E. Smith, at nsmith@advocate.nyc.gov, to discuss and arrange this. I look forward to discussing these matters and to working together to address the needs of all of our constituents.
Sincerely,
Jumaane D. Williams
Public Advocate for the City of New York
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