Reports

This report on the use of overtime by New York State agencies examines patterns over the past ten calendar years. The total cost of overtime in calendar year 2017 was more than $761 million, covering roughly 17.5 million overtime hours worked.

In governmental budgeting, there can sometimes be a tendency to focus on the short term. At any level of government, taxpayers and those who depend on public services can suffer if officials don’t ensure a strong financial foundation for the long term as well.

The New York State Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Asset Management and Financial Institution Strategy (Chapter 171, Laws of 2010) was enacted to codify and replicate best practices for providing MWBEs that are asset managers, investment banks and financial and professional service providers with the opportunity to offer services to fiduciary-controlled entities established by New York State law.

This report identifies the number of late payments, the number of days to process late payments, the amount of interest paid and the reasons for the delays.

Of the total contracts, 2,210 contracts (54 percent) were processed late, after their start or renewal dates. This is a modest reduction from 2016, when 59 percent were reported late, and continues a decline in the percentage of late contracts from the five-year high of 87 percent reported late in 2013.

Credit cards are the most commonly used vehicle for consumer borrowing, and thus play an important role in both the overall economy and individual households’ finances.

The New York State Common Retirement Fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than one million State and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries.

The New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), administered by the State Department of Civil Service (Civil Service), is one of the nation’s largest public sector health insurance programs. NYSHIP covers over 1.2 million active and retired State, local government and school district employees, and their dependents.

The State Budget determines how much can be spent in various program areas and how the necessary revenue will be raised. In recent years, annual budgets have increasingly become broader policy-making documents.

Each year, thousands of New Yorkers take the opportunity, while paying their State taxes, to support a variety of charitable purposes through the State’s personal income tax check-off programs.

The Office of the State Comptroller received 20,867 contract transactions, including both new contracts and contract amendments, valued at $88.37 billion in the 2017 calendar year. The average time from submission to final sign-off was 7.5 days.

Recent actions at the federal level to undercut crucial environmental protections remind us once again that we can’t take our environmental quality and successes over the past decades for granted.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the legislation that created New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) – a development well worth noting. The Fund is one of the State’s most important vehicles for making capital investments to preserve open space, protect water quality, and improve parks and waterfronts all across New York.

The federal government has long been a key partner in New York State’s efforts to deliver essential public services.

In 2017, OSC completed 23 audits of expenses submitted to SED by preschool special education providers. These audits have cumulatively identified over $12.5 million in recommended disallowances, or about 3 percent of the total claimed expenses of $454 million for the audit period. 

Across New York State, we hear calls for investment in essential public infrastructure.

Homelessness is a troubling, chronic problem nationally and in New York State. Veterans of U.S. military service have made up a disproportionate share of our nation’s homeless population.

This Report on Estimated Receipts and Disbursements for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2017-18 through SFY 2019-20, issued pursuant to Section 23 of the State Finance Law, is intended to enhance analysis and discussion of the State’s economic condition and the State Budget.

Receipts from All Governmental Funds (All Funds) totaled $76.6 billion through the first half of the fiscal year, an increase of $1.5 billion or 2 percent over the same period in SFY 2016- 17.

It’s been said that the only certain things in life are death and taxes. But when leaders in Washington make sweeping promises about the benefits of “tax reform,” we can be certain of at least one other thing – the need to look very carefully at the numbers.