Printer Friendly Format Email a Friend


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 137-06
May 2, 2006

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND SPEAKER QUINN ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY OF CITY BUDGET

City and Council Will Work Together to Provide Greater Spending Detail

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Speaker Christine C. Quinn today announced an agreement to reform the budget process by providing the Council with improved access to detailed spending information within the Units of Appropriation included in the City's budget. Over the coming years, the Administration and the Council will work to provide the detail needed to establish a more open and transparent budget process. The Mayor will release the Executive Budget on Thursday. 

"Increasing transparency in the City's budget process is the epitome of good government," said Mayor Bloomberg. "New York's taxpayers need to know exactly how and where their hard earned dollars are being spent. Transparency and openness engenders accountability, and accountability increases efficiency and productivity. I want to thank Speaker Quinn for her leadership on this issue. I am pleased to partner with the City Council on this program of reform and I look forward to working with Council Members to strengthen and improve our budget process."

"I am proud to stand again with Mayor Bloomberg to announce another step in our effort to make City government more accountable," said Speaker Quinn. "The Council is committed to transforming the City's budget so it's easier to understand for all New Yorkers, and these reforms will do just that. While it will take some time, together we will be creating a budget document that truly reflects how tax dollars are spent, allowing the Council to more accurately determine which City programs are working well and which need to be improved or even eliminated."

As a result of this agreement, the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget and the Council's Finance Division will begin a collaborative process to improve the detailed reporting on agency spending. This process will begin by examining the budgets of the Administration for Children's Services and the Department of Small Business Services. The departments' budgets will then be modified so that the more detailed information can be reported for fiscal year 2008, enabling the public to better determine where and how taxpayer dollars are being spent. The program will be expanded to additional agencies over the coming years.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser/Jordan Barowitz   (212) 788-2958

Maria Alvarado (Speaker Quinn)   (212) 788-7116




More Resources