What NYC gov expenses would you cut?

whynot_31

The next mayor and session of the City Council will have some hard decisions to make when it comes to the budget.

Needless to say, some will advocate pursuing revenue enhancement (more taxes), and others will advocated less spending.

The NYC IBO has recently come out with a pretty long list of expenses that they believe could be cut with minimal impact.

In my view they tried to be practical, as opposed to the options we receive from the "advocates", which (in my view) tend to be motivated to much by political and/or hysterical interests.

What do you think of their ideas for how the city could save money?

The list:

http://ow.ly/kRzNr

armchair_warrior

reform gov employee pensions! aka cut benefits(never going to happen lol)

crack down on bus fare beaters i read many years back they are not getting half a billion dollars from some areas. or they should stop running those routes.

also stop trains going to some areas that has literally no riders at all!!!

cut recycle program but set up recycle stations for those who still want to do it.

no more busing kids around nyc or giving them metro cards, kids should go to their neighborhood schools. if they want to go to schools outside of their areas they should pay for that themselves.

sell all community garden space to the highest bidders. community gardens are really use by some folks or turn it into a play ground so every one could use it.

sell all those parking lot spaces in projects to the highest bidders. people in projects don't need parking. normal people have to fend for themselves with parking. so should they.

also sell all government housing to the highest bidders.

make all people in welfare and section 8 do some sort of community service to build self esteem and a work ethic.

free folks from prisons jails on drug charges.

no more stupid high cig taxes. it doesn't work in fact it hinders getting taxes being so damn high!

all converted taxi medallions to a new type that will expire in decade. and new ones to be auction to the highest bidders and those should expire each year. Also outlaw gypsy cabs. this way there should be enough taxis to go around besides only in Manhattan and rich areas of Brooklyn.

no more stupid liquor licenses.

no restrictions on what type of business can open where. hell people should open what ever they want as long as its legal. you always have a nimby. oh can't open a strip club, oh can't open a homeless shelter, oh can't open a garbage dump, oh can't open a meat market etc...

no more height restrictions on buildings and historical crap. cities change don't need to be in a bubble.

NYC residential parking permits. charge a fee, no more free parking for everyone on the street!!!(not going to happen but one can dream)

charge a damn toll to the free bridges!! cars more vs motorcycles etc...

someone start a slum tourism into the ghettos for money!

oh legalize weed and ho's.

if i think of anything else i'll type up a new post. too damn long by now.

armchair_warrior

oh reopen state mental hospitals way too many crazy homeless people left to fend for themselves on the street. not save budget but cost money .

whynot_31

AW-

Do you have any expenses from the IBO list that you would like cut or kept?

...it focuses on things that are within the control of the NYC City Council.

newguy88

Gov't contractors! I'm sick of seeing 4 contractors stand around a road side project as one guy works.

I know it won't cut city expenses but spending money in a more efficient manner is always good. The NYPD deploys a disproportionate amount of their force in Manhattan in relatively low crime areas. Also bring down the use of excessive force and corresponding law suits won't hurt the city's bottom line.

Also the NYPD should ticket aggressive drivers more often. This will

1. Raise the city's coffers.

2. Reduce the number of 911 calls for car accidents and their corresponding cost to the city.

Also it might be time to look at congestion charges in Manhattan.

That being said I'm against any and all cuts to any transit service. Our city's knee jerk reaction to tight budgets can't be to remove or lower MTA services. In fact it's time we do the opposite.

homeowner

Just an aside, the city doesn't control (although it does partially fund) the MTA. It is a state authority that has a minority of city appointed board members.

The MTA is governed by a 17-member Board. Members are nominated by the Governor, with four recommended by New York City's mayor and one each by the county executives of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Putnam counties (the members representing the latter four cast one collective vote)

whynot_31

We also seem to having difficulty discussing the specific cuts that the IBO recommends.

homeowner

Okay, so the proposals I could back are:

1) Construct a Waste-to-Energy Plant For a Portion of City Refuse

2)Impose a One-Year Hiatus on the Creation of New Small Schools

3)Encourage Classroom Teachers to Serve Jury Duty During Non-instructional Summer Months

4)Require Police Officers to Work 10 Additional Tours Annually by Reducing Paid “Muster Time”

5)Stop Including Overtime Pay When Calculating City Employee Pensions

6)Commuter Tax Restoration; and the companion

6a)Establish a Progressive Commuter Tax

7)Provide Secure Fee-Based Bicycle Storage

whynot_31

I like number 5 as a way to achieve long term savings.

I like number 4 as a way to improve short term savings.