Not knowing why this is critical, and massively positive, is a lack of imagination.
A balanced budget means minimization of your debt service. Cities can invest, they can also take on debt in various forms. There is “good” debt which services itself, but bad debt can be very expensive.
Balancing the budget means more cash flow to pay down existing debt quicker and not have to create new debt. It also means making new investments.
Maybe in 2 or 3 years you can build that orphanage, and you can do it with money your investments have earned, instead of raising taxes or taking on new long-term debt.
This could make NYC more self-sufficient and prosperous in the long run, and less reliant on outside creditors, which limits the leverage of outside parties against the city.
A balanced budget means minimization of your debt service.
If NY has a 1B dollar budget. Receives 1B in revenue and pays 1B in expensives. It has a balanced budget.
It has nothing to do with where or how the money comes in or goes.
Both NY and NY city are required to have a balanced budget legally unlike the federal government. So there would be a problem if it wasn’t balanced.
It is just a fancy way of saying that they don’t have to raise property tax to get enough revenue for expected expenses. Now if those expected expenses exceeds revenue in 2027 is another matter.
Not knowing why this is critical, and massively positive, is a lack of imagination.
A balanced budget means minimization of your debt service. Cities can invest, they can also take on debt in various forms. There is “good” debt which services itself, but bad debt can be very expensive.
Balancing the budget means more cash flow to pay down existing debt quicker and not have to create new debt. It also means making new investments.
Maybe in 2 or 3 years you can build that orphanage, and you can do it with money your investments have earned, instead of raising taxes or taking on new long-term debt.
This could make NYC more self-sufficient and prosperous in the long run, and less reliant on outside creditors, which limits the leverage of outside parties against the city.
If NY has a 1B dollar budget. Receives 1B in revenue and pays 1B in expensives. It has a balanced budget.
It has nothing to do with where or how the money comes in or goes.
Both NY and NY city are required to have a balanced budget legally unlike the federal government. So there would be a problem if it wasn’t balanced.
It is just a fancy way of saying that they don’t have to raise property tax to get enough revenue for expected expenses. Now if those expected expenses exceeds revenue in 2027 is another matter.