Originally published in Issue 5 - Mar 17, 1997


Continued Coverage of the City Council Budget Hearings

In this issue of Inside the Budget, IBO continues to report on the City Council’s Preliminary Budget hearings at which City agencies testify. These hearings continue through March 19th and are jointly held by Council Finance Committee and other relevant Council committees. The name and phone number of the IBO budget analyst who examines the agency is provided for your use.

Welfare Committee Presses HRA to “Show Us the Numbers”
Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services
Committee on General Welfare
(Stephen DiBrienza, Chair)
Tuesday, March 11, 1997
Key Witness: Commissioner Lilliam Barrios-Paoli
IBO Analyst: Sofia Quintero - 676-9248

Commissioner Barrios-Paoli’s first appearance before the General Welfare Committee quickly grew tense when HRA’s senior staff was unprepared to give several budgetary and programmatic figures, particularly on the impact of federal and state welfare reform.

Look for IBO’s upcoming March and May reports for more discussion on DASIS restructuring, the City’s Domestic Violence Initiative, and other social service issues.


Spending Less, Housing Fewer
Department of Homeless Services
Committee on General Welfare
(Stephen DiBrienza, Chair)
Tuesday, March 11, 1997
Key Witness: Commissioner Gordon Campbell
IBO Analyst: Jonathan Cortell, 442-8617

At the end of a long day of hearings, the General Welfare Committee questioned the commissioner about core issues relating to homeless services provision.

Last week, the State lifted fire, safety, and health requirements for shelters, as well as caps on the number of people that may be sheltered in one facility. The Commissioner sought to mitigate fears about the absence of state regulations, arguing that the City has some of the most stringent requirements in the world. He also reiterated his opposition to shelter caps, which he believes limited flexibility at DHS. Committee members contended that housing more than two hundred people in one shelter compromises service delivery.


Checking the Health of Our Hospitals
Health and Hospitals Corporation
Committee on Health (Enoch Williams, Chair)
Monday, March 10, 1997
Key Witness: Dr. Luis R. Marcos, President
IBO Analyst: Jonathan Cortell - 442-8617

Monday’s hearing focused on changes that the Mayor’s budget would make to the City’s payment to the Health and Hospitals Corporation (the Corporation or HHC) and the uncertain financing for new responsibilities assigned to the Corporation.

The IBO will evaluate changes made in the Mayor’s budget in its forthcoming March report.


DOT Cites Responsiveness as Top Goal
Department of Transportation
Committee on Transportation (Noach Dear, Chair)
Monday, March 10, 1997
Key Witness: Commissioner Christopher Lynn
IBO Analyst: Martha Prinz - 442-8616

This hearing focused on the commissioner’s description of DOT efforts to streamline the agency and increase accountability. Specific examples cited included sweeping arterials at night to reduce traffic congestion and expenditures (saving $105,000 in 1997 and $210,000 in 1998) and increasing parking meter productivity with additional monitoring to reduce vandalism and other problems (saving $376,000 in 1997 and $816,000 in 1998).

The commissioner noted the importance of Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA) reauthorization at the federal level, citing as an example the City’s recent request for $820 million in ISTEA funds for maintenance of East River bridges. Mr. Lynn also said that the state’s proposal to cut $13.4 million in Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPs) funding would significantly affect DOT’s budget. There was no discussion of the agency’s budget other than in the context of these federal and state issues despite cuts in City funding.

For further analysis of ISTEA, see IBO’s February report, Fiscal Outlook.


Changes and Challenges at ACS
Administration for Children’s Services
Committee on General Welfare
(Stephen DiBrenza, Chair)
Tuesday, March 11, 1997
Key Witness: Deputy Commissioner Maria Vandor
IBO Analyst: Ritta McLaughlin - 442-0340

The Committee on General Welfare hurled questions at officials from the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) for nearly two hours on Tuesday, questioning how ACS plans to address welfare reform and its own well-publicized organizational difficulties.


The Shell Game: Now You See It, Now You Don’t
Department of Juvenile Justice
Committees on Youth Services
(Victor Robles, Chair)
Tuesday, March 11, 1997
Key Witness: Commissioner Marta Moczo-Santiago
IBO Analyst: Jenell Horton - 442-8655

The capacity of juvenile facilities to house current populations dominated Tuesday’s hearing:

IBO will be assessing the relationship between the capacity of juvenile facilities and their ability to serve juvenile populations during the coming months.


We’re All In This Together
Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism Services
Subcommittee on Mental Health (Una Clarke, Chair)
Monday, March 10, 1997
Key Witness: Commissioner Neal Cohen
IBO Analyst: Deborah Ahrens - 442-8619

The specter of pending state funding cuts dominated Monday’s generally genial DMHMRAS hearing. The Department and Council agreed to collaborate in the coming months in order to prevent the following Governor’s proposals from becoming reality for City mental health services:

IBO will monitor the progress of these state proposals and their effects on the City budget during the coming months.