September 9, 2019 – In its Quarterly Cash Report issue today, NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer’s Office reported that the City’s unrestricted cash balance declined by 25% to $7.1 billion, the lowest year end balance since 2013.
As per the City’s recent practice to transfer budgetary surpluses to the following fiscal year (the 2019 fiscal year commenced in July 2019), the City allocated funds to prepay $4.2 billion – approximately $4 billion for City and TFA debt service; and $200 million advances to Health and Hospitals.
In FY2019, expenditures exceeded receipts by $2.3 billion. Expenditures have exceeded receipts in the four of the last ten years.
While the year-on-year cash balance decline may portend a slightly weaker City economy, FY2019 marks the 15th year the City has enough resources not to tap financial markets for short-term borrowing / interim cash. Before FY2005, the City regularly issued revenue anticipation notes to fund operations until property tax revenues are received in January in the calendar year.
The City also disclosed that during FY19, it received $22.4 billion in Federal and State aid, compared to $20.3 billion in FY18. In FY19, the City received $1.1 billion more in NYS education aid and $869 million more in Federal welfare aid, versus a year ago.
Contact Jumanne Johnson at JJohnson@buymuni.com.
