A huge victory for cooler heads and the moderate majority. A template for the rest of the United States and perhaps Congress. Details of the deal below. Most importantly, this has set a record for number of on-time budgets.
1. Fiscal Restraint.
The $137.9 billion budget keeps growth in all spending levels below 2 percent
This doesn't mean that spending priorities are ignored.
The NY Environmental Protection Fund received an increase of 9 million in funding
School aid goes up 5 percent.
2. Middle-class and pro-growth tax relief
Local governments are notorious for their lack of fiscal discipline, so an initiative has been set upto give middle class taxpayers property tax relief if they keep spending in line.
The accord includes a plan to give property owners a rebate equal to the increase in their property tax bill if their local governments agree to keep spending growth below the state’s 2 percent property tax cap, the legislation says.
In the second year, they’d get a rebate if the jurisdictions they live in present a three-year plan to share services and lower spending by 1 percent annually while remaining under the cap. During the course of three years the plan, which also includes a rebate for New York City renters who meet income requirements, will provide $1.5 billion to 2.8 million taxpayers, Cuomo said
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On the pro-growth side
The budget also looks to cut state taxes and create jobs by establishing a 20 percent real estate property tax credit for manufacturers who own or lease property. Beginning in 2014, it will slash the tax rate on income for all manufacturers from the current 5.9 percent to zero.
A small cut in the tax rate to keep NY corporations's competitive as they have been suffering an exodus to low-tax jurisdictions.
3. Funding for Pre-K
http://www.nytimes.com/...
The agreement on prekindergarten offered a conclusion to months of high-stakes maneuvering between Mr. Cuomo and Mr. de Blasio, who are both Democrats. The governor rejected the mayor’s efforts to pass a tax increase on high-earning city residents, but in the end, Mr. de Blasio emerged with most of the money he says he needs to expand preschool.
The mayor had sought about $340 million for the prekindergarten expansion, which would offer free full-day classes to 4-year-olds; the budget pact allocates that much money for the entire state, with most of it designated for the city
4. Respect the rights of public charter schools
Mr. de Blasio had resisted the idea that he should be required to accommodate charter schools, which are publicly financed but are typically managed by nonprofit groups. In February, he denied space to three of the schools affiliated with a high-performing network known as Success Academy Charter Schools, arguing that they would crowd out traditional school programs.
But advocates of charter schools organized a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign and flooded the capital with protesters.
With his popularity sagging in polls, Mr. de Blasio worked aggressively to ease tensions with charter school advocates. But his efforts came too late; Mr. Cuomo and Republicans in the State Senate were already working in private to provide a lifeline to charter schools, seizing on what they saw as the mayor’s political weakness.
Under the budget agreement, charter schools, previously barred from operating early education programs, would also be eligible for grants for prekindergarten, and they would receive more money per student.
More info here.
http://www.businessweek.com/...