District Council 37 Hearing Examines Mayor Bloomberg's Failure to Collect Revenue Needed to Maintain City Services

WHAT:

District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts has called for a second hearing into Mayor Bloomberg's budget proposals – this time with an emphasis on city revenue streams that could bring in money and prevent service cutbacks and layoffs.

In today's economic and political climate nationally and in New York, the focus has been on pension reform, civil service reform, lay-offs and reduced funding for city services as the only ways to solve budget problems.

However, DC 37 feels that, in addition to reining in the city's costly, out-of-control contract budget, it is critically important to examine how the city collects, spends and wastes money before cutbacks are considered. In an earlier report District Council 37 pointed out that several parking lots received religious tax exemptions from the city. The city has since revised their designation making it possible to bring in some $3.5 million in previously lost revenue.

Why do gentlemen's clubs and strip joints enjoy thousands of dollars in tax breaks? Why is the city throwing away some $22 million in uncollected billboard taxes and $27 million in uncollected taxes from cell phone towers? Why do businesses that bought property from non-profits and religious institutions qualify for tax exemption costing the city more than $173 million in property taxes? Why hasn't New York City implemented an across-the-board vendor rate reduction, as other major cities have, which could save some $316 million? Why has no one addressed the fact that a 1/3 drop in the revenue the city has been able to retrieve from audits corresponds to a drop in the number of city auditors.

Answers to these and other revenue-related questions and issues – along with carefully compiled research and analysis of the city's fiscal crisis – will be discussed by experts at the hearing, bolstering DC 37's firm belief that service cuts and layoffs are not necessary.

WHEN:

Thursday, April 28, 2011

9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

WHERE:  

District Council 37 Headquarters

125 Barclay Street – Room 1

New York, N.Y. 10007

WHO:

Lillian Roberts, DC 37 Executive Director

Henry Garrido, DC 37 Associate Director

Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate, New York City

Domenic Recchia, Finance Chair, New York City Council, 47th District

Kevin Parker, New York State Senate, 21st District

Fran Schloss, Pres., L. 1757, NYC Assessors, Appraisers and Housing Devel. Specialists

Ron Deutsche, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness

James Parrott, Deputy Director and Chief Economist, Fiscal Policy Institute

Matt Ryan, Board Member, Jobs with Justice

Bettina Damiani, Project Director, Good Jobs New York

New York City Council Progressive Caucus Representative

Contact:

Zita Allen, Communications Director

Molly Charboneau

Rudy Orozco

212-815-1535