David Yassky for New York City Comptroller

David Yassky on the Issues

The Comptroller is the fiscal watchdog for New York City. He or she has the responsibility and the authority to open up the books of city agencies and make sure that city taxpayers are seeing the results of funds spent in their name. On all of those issues which are important to New Yorkers – issues like taxes, housing, our environment, schools and health care – I will lead the fight to make sure that every dollar is spent wisely and every program runs at its peak efficiency.

As Comptroller, I will honor the covenant with you, the taxpayers, to be your watchdog inside the city government, always serving your best interests and always looking to protect your hard-earned money. To achieve this, my administration will be based on good government principles of transparency, accountability and integrity; and on my personal belief that as a progressive, it is my responsibility to make sure that when the government spends money, it does so prudently and effectively.

Over the course of this campaign, I’ll be going to every borough, to as many neighborhoods as possible, to talk about my vision for the Office of the City Comptroller. As I do, I hope to have a chance to meet each of you personally to discuss the issues facing our city, but in the meantime, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on some of the more pressing matters we face.

Budget Reform

Recently, we have all seen the danger of abuse in our budget process. I have proposed to prevent such a scandal from ever occurring again. Under my proposal, city agencies would have to ensure that organizations receiving taxpayer funds have the capacity and ability to administer those funds; all groups receiving earmark funds would be subject to routine audits; potential conflicts of interest would have to be disclosed and reviewed by the Conflicts of Interest Board; and the entire budget – including earmarks – would be posted on the web for the public to review.

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First Rate Schools

Every New York City school can and should offer a first-rate education for our kids, but in far too many of our schools districts that’s simply not the case. As neighborhoods have changed, the City has failed to plan appropriately and today, thousands of children struggle with bloated class sizes and underfunded schools.

We also need to re-examine the structure of Mayoral control, which was enacted to enhance accountability but has number of shortcomings that must be addressed. Parents and communities need to have a real opportunity for input into the decision-making process for schools in their neighborhoods. On a broader level, serious questions have been raised about procurement procedures and the fact that our schools fall outside the audit authority of the City Comptroller. We need close these loopholes to make sure that there are built-in systems of accountability and proper internal controls for education spending.

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Protecting the Environment

Few cities are as sensitive to environmental change as New York City, yet we have done far too little to protect our natural resources and to protect ourselves from the dangers of global warming. With childhood asthma rates continuing to soar – especially in many of our lowest-income communities – we need to do more to clean our air. I wrote the law that put gas-electric hybrid taxis on city streets, reducing air pollution by replacing obsolete gas guzzlers; and I have pushed for the City to use biofuels instead of conventional heating oil whenever possible. But that is just the beginning.

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Promoting Job Growth and Diversification

New York City is at a crossroads in determining our economic future. While the financial services industry has provided high-paying jobs to thousands of individuals and has kept us afloat during tough economic times, we must recognize that being too dependent on any one sector carries a risk – if that sector suffers a downturn, our entire economic base erodes. This is precisely what we are seeing right now in New York State and New York City – as the financial sector recedes, we are facing significant deficits because of lost tax revenue. So, while we want to make sure we keep the finance industry here in New York, we must also diversify our economy to keep it more stable during unavoidable economic shifts.

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Cutting Taxes

My approach to taxes in New York City will be based on one overriding principle: We must ease the tax burden on the working poor, middle-class families and small businesses. In the Council, I have worked to make sure that everyone eligible receives the Earned Income Tax Credit, and I have proposed enhancing the EITC to allow more families to access this program. This is a critical tax cut that would benefit those who need it most - hardworking New Yorkers who earn little more than the minimum wage. In this tough economy and with the cost of living on the increase, we need to do everything we can to help working families keep a little more of the money they earn.

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Affordable Housing

On the Council, I have made it a priority to find new and innovative ways to expand the supply of affordable housing in New York City. We were successful in pushing for reforms that reward developers who actually create affordable housing as they develop market-rate or luxury housing, but there is far more to be done.

We need to continue our efforts to require that all new large-scale housing construction includes affordable homes for middle and working class families. With real estate all over the city being rezoned into residential property, it is critical that we make sure that some of the newly developed housing be affordable for the hardworking men and women who build it. As part of this effort, I joined with a number of City Council members, faith leaders, housing groups, development corporations, and community organizations to demand that the Mayor implement an inclusionary zoning requirement in the rezoning process.

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