NYC budget

The City Council approved Wednesday an additional $179 million for 2015’s city budget. But budget transparency, say a minority of council members, is still a concern.

New York City is home to 1.7 million children, who are feeling the pinch from budget cuts and a tough economy.

In recent weeks, much of the focus has been on the federal government as it navigate the impending fiscal cliff deadline set for the end of the year. New York City, however, has budgetary problems of its own on the horizon.

Each year City Council members are given millions of dollars in discretionary money to be spent on improvements specific to their districts.

Sales tax collections for the first quarter were higher than expected, however state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli warned there is still a need for budgetary caution for the remainder of New York state’s 2012-2013 fiscal year.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration was criticized for its use of so-called one-shot measures to balance the fiscal year 2013 budget.

Although the fiscal year 2012 budget is balanced, more difficulty lies ahead. New York City anticipates a budget gap of around $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2014.

After months of New Yorkers protesting against proposed cuts to areas close to their hearts, the City Council and the mayor’s office announced an agreement that will restore many millions of dollars to these areas.

With the release of the city’s budget plan, many areas are going to be experiencing funding cuts, including public libraries, child care, health care, and more.

A frenzy of city budget hearings will soon draw to a close and the budget will go before City Council for a vote, a little later than usual this year.

The city is forced to make cuts to maintain a balanced budget as required by law.

Citizens Budget Commission has created a new website focused on making it easier to explore government spending.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer announced a budget reform plan on Friday to create independent panels to review the expenditure of tax dollars in order to include more public input.

The City Council’s Transportation Committee questioned the Taxi and Limousine Commission about the projected $1 billion revenue from selling 2,000 new taxi medallions this year.

The City Council began reviewing the city’s proposed 2013 fiscal year budget on Monday, with councilors critically questioning various aspects of the proposed budget.