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AGENCY TESTIMONY
NYC Department of Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack's testimony on FY 2026 executive budget
4:25:12
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6 min
Commissioner Preston Niblack of the New York City Department of Finance presents updates on recent activities and discusses the agency's executive budget for fiscal year 2026. He highlights progress on the tax lien sale, banking commission meetings, and the release of the final property assessment rule. The Commissioner then outlines key investments in the budget, including adjustments to auditor pay scales and plans to upgrade the Parking Violations Bureau's computer system.
- The Department of Finance's executive budget for FY 2026 is $365,200,000
- Two major investments: adjusting pay scales for city tax auditors and upgrading the 40-year-old mainframe computer system for the Parking Violations Bureau
- The final property assessment roll showed a 5.39% increase in overall market value of properties and a 3.03% increase in taxable billable assessed value
Preston Niblack
4:25:12
Good afternoon, chair Brandon, members of the committee, and members of the council.
4:25:16
My name is Preston Niblak, and I'm the commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance.
4:25:20
I'm joined by first deputy commissioner Jeffrey Shear, and Jacqueline James, our Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Planning.
4:25:29
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on our fiscal year twenty twenty six executive budget.
4:25:35
Now more than ever before, the Department of Finance remains steadfast in our commitment to administer the city's tax laws and to perform our other responsibilities fairly, effectively, and with our customers, New Yorkers, squarely in mind at all times.
4:25:50
Before discussing the agency's executive budget for the coming year, would like to touch on a few updates including our progress on the tax lien sale, the recent banking commission meetings, and the release of the city's final property assessment rule.
4:26:04
As you know, we extended the deadline for owners to act to remove their properties from the lien sale by two weeks from May 19 to June 2 to ensure that our outreach, especially for class one homeowners, would be comprehensive.
4:26:18
This year's tax lien sale is the first in four years, which meant that there was a larger at risk pool than is typical.
4:26:25
But as part of the reforms we enacted last year together, the city has engaged in the most extensive outreach we have ever undertaken connection with the Lien Sale.
4:26:34
With the help of our partners at the Department of Environmental Protection, the mayor's public engagement unit, housing preservation and development, and the Center for New York City Neighborhoods and their community partners, We've knocked on over 6,500 doors, made over 70,000 calls, sent 100,000 postcards, and held 57 in person outreach events in conjunction with 37 elected officials, mostly council members.
4:27:01
We extend our appreciation to all of you who assisted in hosting these events.
4:27:05
This Monday will be the last day for owners to act, so we urge any property owner who has not yet responded to a lien sale notice to please visit our website, nyc.gov/liensale, or visit us in person at one of our five borough business centers.
4:27:22
We appreciate the council's partnership and are here to assist your constituents.
4:27:28
Turning to the banking commission.
4:27:30
Every May, the banking commission meets to authorize the banking institutions that the city of New York will use to safeguard the city's deposits and provide banking services for city agencies.
4:27:41
Although this process doesn't necessarily garner a lot of attention, the security of the city's money is our highest priority.
4:27:48
So we undertake a painstakingly thorough process to ensure the selection of banks capable of this responsibility.
4:27:55
This year, I'm pleased to report that 32 banking institutions were designated, including two new community banks, Ponce Bank, which is formerly a community development financial institution, and Ridgewood Savings.
4:28:09
Finally, another annual event in the month of May is the release of the Final Property Assessment Rule, was published just this last Tuesday.
4:28:17
The role showed a solid year for real estate in New York City, with the overall market value of properties increasing by 5.39, and taxable billable assessed value up 3.03%.
4:28:29
As usual, the final assessment roll was slightly lower than the tentative roll released in January, down by 0.28% due to administrative reviews by DOF and tax commission decisions.
4:28:41
Owners can expect to receive their first quarter property tax bill based on the final role in the June.
4:28:49
So now let me turn to the executive budget.
4:28:51
The DOF executive budget for fiscal year twenty twenty six is $365,200,000 Our budget for the coming year includes important strategic investments that will allow the agency to take meaningful steps forward in accomplishing our important mission.
4:29:07
There are two pivotal investments I'd like to specifically highlight.
4:29:11
First is an across the board adjustment in the pay scale for our city tax auditors.
4:29:17
This measure is designed to both make us more competitive in the hiring of new entry level auditors as well as to improve our retention of more experienced senior auditors.
4:29:26
Our tax auditors deserve a career path where they can grow, learn, acquire experience, and take on more complex cases and supervisory responsibilities, and be appropriately rewarded for their work all within the Department of Finance.
4:29:41
This initiative is a big step toward making that a reality.
4:29:46
Second, as many of you know, the Department of Finance operates the Parking Violations Bureau, which handles all 16,000,000 parking and speed camera violations that are issued each year in the city.
4:29:57
This operation currently relies on a 40 old mainframe computer system, which frankly has seen better days.
4:30:03
This is why we're investing in a comprehensive new system that will bring our processes into the twenty first century.
4:30:10
Enhancements will allow us to improve the efficiency of our hearings, reduce turnaround time for decisions, and allow commercial fleet operators to electronically enroll in our fleet programs, among other improvements.
4:30:22
Ultimately, this investment will allow us to be more adaptive and agile to new public safety measures and to improve the customer experience.
4:30:30
We've just kicked off the procurement for the multi year process needed to replace the current system.
4:30:35
We expect work to start in the early fall and to take two to three years to complete.
4:30:40
We look forward to keeping the council informed as we deliver this crucial upgrade.
4:30:46
In closing, the Department of Finance continues our steady yet crucial role of collecting and protecting the city's money.
4:30:52
This is my fourth year joining you all as the Commissioner for these budget hearings, and I can confidently say that this is the best I have felt as we continue to prepare for the future.
4:31:02
Sadly, Mr.
4:31:03
Chairman, this is our last budget hearing together.
4:31:06
I've appreciated your partnership and support and that of the staff of the Finance Division, led by Richard Lee, Amra Adev, Michael Sherman, and Jack Storia in particular who have all been tremendously cooperative and helpful and great to work with.
4:31:23
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to testify today and I'm happy to take your questions.