New York City sells bonds to finance the construction and repair of infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, schools, water supply and wastewater treatment systems, so that New York continues to be a great place to live, work and visit. Projects are determined through the City’s capital budgeting process and must have useful lives of five years or longer to be funded by debt.
New York City also issues bonds to refinance outstanding bonds for interest savings. These refundings are strictly economic and do not extend the final maturity of the debt or cause increases in debt expense in any year.
The Comptroller, through the Bureau of Public Finance, and the Mayor, through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), share the responsibility for issuing bonds and notes backed by the City’s General Obligation (GO), as well as debt of the NYC Transitional Finance Authority (TFA) and NYC Municipal Water Finance Authority (NYW). Working with OMB, the Comptroller’s Office determines and approves structures, terms, and conditions for all City debt. The Comptroller also reviews and approves debt issuance by TSASC, Inc., the NYC Housing Development Corporation, the Trust for Cultural Resources, NYC Health and Hospitals, and the Battery Park City Authority and participates in the issuance of Sales Tax Asset Receivable Corporation (STAR) and Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corporation (HYIC) bonds, among others.
In addition to issuing debt, the Comptroller’s Office actively monitors the City’s outstanding bonds and handles debt policy and administrative matters.
For information on other important City offices and issuers, Comptroller’s Office public finance initiatives, and required municipal advisor disclosures, please see the following links:
