New York City Comptroller Stringer Releases Fiscal Year 2019 Popular Annual Financial ReportNovember 21, 2019(New York, NY) – New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today released the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for Fiscal Year 2019, a complementary guide designed for the general public to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (Annual Report) released earlier this month. The PAFR distills important information about local government and its finances for use by City residents from the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, using dozens of explanatory graphs, charts, and images to provide New Yorkers with an easy-to-understand 31-page roadmap to City government.“Data transparency is crucial to supporting robust civic engagement and building a fair city – especially when it comes to the City budget. The PAFR is a key document which opens up the City budget to all New Yorkers and ensures that everyone has the facts, figures, and data-points to understand how their city works,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “While the size and complexity of New York City’s budget may be daunting, this PAFR offers a succinct summary of how our tax dollars are being spent. I am proud that our office is delivering this information to the public in an easy to understand way and encourage every New Yorker to take a look.”This is the fifth year the Comptroller’s office has released the groundbreaking PAFR report. This Fiscal Year 2019 report will be submitted for consideration for the Government Finance Officers Association’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting, which recognizes conformance with the highest standards for preparation of state and local government popular reports. The City of New York has received this national award for the last four consecutive fiscal years.The majority of the data in the PAFR comes from the Comptroller’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, which is released every year on October 31st. This year’s PAFR highlights:New York City Unemployment Rate at Historic Low In FY 2019, the unemployment rate in New York City fell to 4.2 percent, the lowest rate on record.The private sector continued to add jobs for the ninth consecutive year, adding 79,700 jobs, a gain of 2.0 percent. More New Yorkers are working than ever-before: since the end of last recession in FY 2010, the City has added 868,200 new jobs, reaching 4.6 million in FY 2019, the highest number on record.Average hourly earnings of all private sector employees working in New York City rose 4.1 percent, the highest growth ever recorded. By comparison, U.S. average hourly earnings grew 3.2 percent.Additionally, the City’s economy, as measured by the change in real gross city product as calculated by the Office of the Comptroller, grew 2.9 percent in FY 2019, slightly below the 3.1 percent growth in FY 2018.RevenueOverall, the primary government brought in about $93 billion in revenues in FY 2019, which comes from two major sources: program revenues, such as State and Federal grants, and general revenues, like taxes.In FY 2019, program revenue accounted for over $30 billion, an increase of $1.4 billion from the previous year. Program revenue from State and Federal grants for education programs ($14 billion total) and social services ($5 billion total), had the greatest effect on the increase.In FY 2019, general revenues were over $63 billion, an increase of almost $3.6 billion from the previous year. Real estate taxes were the greatest single source for the increase, totaling over $28 billion, largely due to growth in billable Assessed Value during the fiscal year.ExpensesThe primary government’s expenses, including all related personnel and applicable pension and benefit costs, were almost $101 billion in FY 2019, an increase of roughly $8.6 billion from the previous year. The increase of expenses is mostly due to personal services expenses and an increase in public safety and judicial expenses.Roadmap to the City BudgetThe PAFR includes an explanation of the City budget process as well as an explanation of the difference between the City’s “General Fund” – the main operating fund of the City – and other types of financial resources such as Capital and Debt.The PAFR also includes information on “Component Units” such as the Health and Hospitals Corporation (H+H), Water and Sewer Authority, and the NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) – legally separate organizations for which the City is financially accountable. This information is presented separately from the financial data of the City’s “primary government.”City Capital Project Expenditures RoseNew York City funds its capital projects using the Capital Budget, which is separate from the General Fund. The Capital Budget is exclusively used to fund capital projects and includes spending on construction and renovation of City property, and purchases of land, buildings, and equipment. It is generally financed by the sale of government bonds.The amount allocated for Capital Authorized Expenditures increased by a total of over $5.5 billion, to be utilized for both current and future projects.Significant capital projects included those of the Department of Education for general school construction at over $4.4 billion, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services for energy efficiency projects at roughly $2 billion, and the Department of Transportation for the rehabilitation of the BQE at approximately $1.7 billion.Peer-City ComparisonsIn 2018 – the most recent comparison available – New York City had 65 million tourists, outpacing Chicago, which had 57 million, and Philadelphia, which welcomed 45 million.Each City provides different types and levels of service for its residents. In FY 2019, New York City spent over $12,600 per resident, while Chicago spent $2,871 and Philadelphia spent about $4,583.This year, New York City’s bond rating was upgraded by the ratings agency Moody’s to an Aa1 rating. New York City also has an AA rating from both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.To read the full Popular Annual Financial Report for 2019, click here.To view the interactive webpage, click here.###