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Council Member Oswald Feliz's opening remarks at the Small Business Committee budget hearing
0:00:35
ยท
3 min
Council Member Oswald Feliz, chair of the Small Business Committee, opens the budget hearing for the Department of Small Business Services (SBS). He provides an overview of the fiscal year 2026 preliminary budget for SBS, highlighting key figures and emphasizing the importance of supporting small businesses in New York City.
- The FY 2026 preliminary budget for SBS totals approximately $182 million, which is 33% less than the previous year's adopted budget.
- Feliz stresses the need to address issues such as storefront vacancies, commercial corridor vibrancy, and the agency's high workforce vacancy rate.
- He expresses his commitment to ensuring the budget reflects the city's needs and interests, and looks forward to engaging with the administration in the coming months.
Oswald Feliz
0:00:35
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to today's small business committee budget hearing.
0:00:40
My name is Oswald Feliz, and I am chair of the council's committee on small business.
0:00:46
Today, we'll be hearing from the department of small business services on the fiscal twenty twenty six preliminary budget.
0:00:53
Small businesses are the backbone of our They give our neighborhoods their their unique identity.
0:00:59
It is crucial that we as a city support our diverse universe of small businesses.
0:01:05
I'm excited to hear from the agency on how this preliminary plan responds to the needs of our small business community and how the resources will be utilized.
0:01:17
For a little context, SBS's fiscal twenty twenty six budget as presented in the preliminary plan totals approximately $182,000,000 with 37 of that 37,000,000 of that or 34% of it to support 356 budgeted full time employees.
0:01:37
Of the total budget for the agency, 72,000,000 or 66% of it supports the department's operations.
0:01:45
This fiscal twenty twenty six budget of approximately a hundred 82,000,000 is approximately 33% less than last year's adopted budget of $272,500,000.
0:01:59
We must ensure that this budget tackles the issues facing our small businesses and commercial corridors, including the issue of storefront vacancies.
0:02:09
We must also ensure it provides tools to ensure commercial corridors are attractive and vibrant, Ensure that these are places that anyone would want to visit, to eat, to shop, and spend time.
0:02:24
We must also ensure that this budget tackles issues facing the agency, SBS, including the high workforce vacancy rate, which is currently approximately 18.7%.
0:02:36
It'll be important for the committee to understand what steps the agency is taking to reduce these vacancies so that it can appropriately carry out its very important mission.
0:02:47
As chair of the committee on small business, I will push for accountability and accuracy to ensure that the budget reflects the needs and the interests of the city.
0:02:58
This hearing is a vital part of this process and I expect that SBS will be responsive to the questions and concerns of council members.
0:03:07
I look forward to an active engagement with administration over the next few months to ensure that the fiscal twenty twenty six adopted budget meets the goals that the council has set out.
0:03:17
I would like to thank you, commissioner Gross and deputy commissioner Forte, for testifying today.
0:03:23
I would also like to thank SBS's staff, who have consistently been responsive to our many, many, many requests at all hours by the way.
0:03:32
We would not be able to analyze the city's budget as such a detailed level without your your cooperation, so thank you.
0:03:38
I would also like to thank both my staff and the staff of the finance and legislative divisions for their help in preparing for this hearing.