Mayor Bloomberg announced his Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Executive Budget and presented an updated four-year financial plan for New York City. The $59.1 billion budget maintains the City's firm financial footing in the near term by reigning in expenditures across the city, with city-funded spending expected to only grow by 0.1 percent.
Because of this restraint in spending and higher than projected revenues, the budget presented today will continue the $400 property tax rebate and the 7 percent property tax rate reduction for this fiscal year.
The Executive budget includes $600 million in savings in FY 2008 and $1.3 billion in FY 2009 from reductions in planned agency spending and it will produce out-year savings of $1.1 billion annually. The Mayor also announced that the financial plan shows deficits of $1.3 billion in FY 2010 and $4.6 billion in FY 2011.
“Through a combination of agency savings and short-term revenue receipts, we will once again return tax dollars to New Yorkers who today face their own budget problems created by the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and the ensuing credit crunch,” said Mayor Bloomberg “That includes the $400 homeowner property tax rebate, which will be continued in Fiscal 2009 and in the out-years as well. Our expectation at this time is that we’ll also be able to extend, for another year, the 7% property tax cut that we enacted last year.”
read the press release: nyc.gov
May 3, 2008
NYC $59.1 Billion Fiscal Year 2009 Budget
Jan 18, 2008
NYC Mayor to extend Property Tax Relief
While many New Yorkers are speculating whether or not Michael Bloomberg will run for President, he says he's not. He is focused on the city's business.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg delivered his seventh annual State of the City address yesterday in Queens, outlining his plans to expand an already sweeping second term agenda while making the tough spending decisions that an uncertain economy requires.
The Mayor Announced that the Administration will:
- Include an extension of the 7 percent across-the-board property tax cut in next week's preliminary budget;
- Continue tax relief with a $400 property tax rebate to all homeowners;
The 7 percent cut was passed when the city had an estimated $4 billion in surplus, from record profits on Wall Street and real estate tax revenues from the "hot" real estate market.
Bloomberg's 7 percent property tax cut was a one-year reduction that would only continue if the city could afford it. However, he also built the reduction into every year of the city's four-year financial plan.
One of my first blog posts from July 2006 was about the city's budget surplus from fiscal 2006. I remember the Mayor saying that he expected real estate tax revenues to decline since he thought property values would go down about 10% in 2006 from from 2005.
Mayor Bloomberg prepared for the tax revenue decline by saving a portion of the surplus for future budgets when the local economy will not be as strong. While property values did decline in 2006 they went back up in 2007.
While the budget and tax cuts are still preliminary most real estate professionals, elected officials, home owners and new buyers are hoping the Mayor will be able to balance the budget and keep the property tax cut still in place.
