Welcome to “It's Your Money NYC”!
Have you ever wondered what you are getting for each tax dollar you pay to New York City? How are your tax dollars spent for homeless services, healthcare and education? What local groups in your neighborhood are receiving funding from the City? On this site, you will be able to explore the details of the New York City's budget. I am excited to share this website with you, which features the City's FY2009 budget data. On June 19, 2009, the City Council voted to pass the FY2010 budget. As soon as this budget data is available, it will be included on this site. I have always believed that New Yorkers should see exactly where their tax dollars are spent. I have proposed that City government puts the entire City budget online in an easy-to-use, searchable, and fully transparent form. But I'm not going to wait for that to happen. This easy-to-use site will allow you to select many of the City's agencies and explore their budgets broken down into easy, understandable units.
I also believe that the City should use the powerful tool of the Internet to get direct feedback from New Yorkers. They know which City-funded programs work and which don't. This website provides the opportunity for taxpayers to comment on those programs, making it an important resource for both citizens and the elected and government officials who work for them.
You can comment on the most specific funding item and let me know how you feel about it. Your comments will be posted for the community to see, and from there, we will begin to discuss how each of us feels about our City's spending. Did you have a good or bad experience with this program? Was it wasteful? How can the City be spending your money better?
You can also search your Council Member's funding initiatives for the past year. Every year, Council Members can appropriate funds towards local organizations and non-profits. On this website, just use the easy search function to find out what is being funded by your City tax dollars. While these "member items" are a small portion of the City's budget, it is important that they are accounted for in an equally vigilant manner.
I believe we need to enter a new era of budget reform that is driven by the principles of innovation, accountability and results. We need to cut waste and avoid cuts to core government services like police officers, healthcare and education. Transparency is the only way to ensure taxpayers that we are fulfilling those commitments.
Thank you for visiting the site and I look forward to hearing what you have to say. Stay tuned for the FY2010 data to be posted on this site!
Sincerely,
David Yassky
