{"id":40188,"date":"2026-04-16T14:51:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T14:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/?p=40188"},"modified":"2026-04-16T14:51:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T14:51:32","slug":"nyc-comptroller-levine-presents-strategy-to-strengthen-rainy-day-fund-urges-immediate-adoption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/archives\/40188","title":{"rendered":"NYC Comptroller Levine presents strategy to strengthen\u00a0rainy day fund, urges immediate adoption"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: Comptroller Mark Levine\u00a0issued a proposal for the City of New York to create a framework for its major \u201crainy day fund,\u201d including a targeted\u00a0balance, regular replenishment, and stronger guardrails for drawing it down.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The suggested parameters,\u00a0outlined in a new report,\u00a0come amid a budget season that has seen a proposed drawdown of the key Revenue Stabilization Fund\u00a0\u2013\u00a0also\u00a0known as the\u00a0Rainy Day\u00a0Fund\u00a0\u2013\u00a0by as much as half\u00a0to balance the City\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0use of\u00a0reserves\u00a0during an otherwise strong\u00a0revenue year for New\u00a0York City has\u00a0contributed\u00a0to\u00a0several major credit rating agencies\u00a0changing\u00a0their\u00a0economic outlook for New York City\u00a0from \u201cstable\u201d to \u201cnegative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City can\u2019t take a make-it-up-as-we-go approach to preparing for tough times,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Comptroller Mark Levine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a well-structured rainy-day fund with clear savings goals, consistent rules for deposits and withdrawals, and strong safeguards against political interference. I look forward to working with the Mayor and City Council to put this in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cComptroller Levine is right \u2014 New York City needs to strengthen its\u00a0Rainy Day\u00a0Fund so it can protect New Yorkers from potentially devastating service cuts during a recession,\u201d said\u00a0<\/strong>Andrew Rein, President of the Citizens Budget Commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have long supported the critical elements the Comptroller identifies are needed for a well-designed Fund. We welcome the opportunity to work with him, the\u00a0Mayor, and the City Council to bolster and codify the budgetary safety net New Yorkers need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Revenue Stabilization Fund (RSF)\u00a0was first\u00a0created\u00a0through a 2019\u00a0Charter Amendment and enabled by the State Legislature the following year. Since 2020, however, the RSF has never had a target balance nor\u00a0mandated\u00a0deposits\u00a0\u2014\u00a0unlike other major U.S. cities.<\/p>\n

Its coffers have\u00a0largely been\u00a0filled through\u00a0pre-existing\u00a0General\u00a0Fund\u00a0surpluses, as well as one-time deposits.\u00a0While other reserves exist, the\u00a0RSF was the City\u2019s first dedicated mechanism to set aside money in case an economic downturn occurs.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0few\u00a0safeguards exist to ensure this vital tool is as sharp as possible\u00a0to\u00a0weather economic headwinds.<\/p>\n

Comptroller\u00a0Levine recommended targeted balance, set deposit and withdrawal rules, and adopt formal policies.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Comptroller\u2019s Office recommended a published, clear policy that incorporates the targeted balance, deposit rules, and withdrawal triggers. That would require the Mayor\u2019s Office of Management and Budget to include a section on the RSF in each financial plan, with details on the gap between the current and targeted balances, the deposit formula, and whether the triggers for a withdrawal have been met, among other metrics.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: Comptroller Mark Levine\u00a0issued a proposal for the City of New York to create a framework for its major \u201crainy day fund,\u201d including a targeted\u00a0balance, regular replenishment, and stronger guardrails for drawing it down. The suggested parameters,\u00a0outlined in a new report,\u00a0come amid a budget season that has seen a proposed drawdown of the key Revenue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":40153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1469,31,1378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york","category-news","category-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40188"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40189,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40188\/revisions\/40189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}