Citizens Budget Commission

The Citizens Budget Commission is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civic organization whose mission is to achieve constructive change in the finances and services of New York City and New York State government.

CBC was founded in 1932 by a group of distinguished civic leaders who decided to start a research organization that would analyze the City’s finances, evaluate the management of city government, report on these matters to its members, and recommend improvements to municipal officials.

With a reputation for independence and objective research, CBC has been an outspoken and influential advocate for government reform – and unique in that the organization confines its advocacy to areas on which it has conducted research. Through that research, as well as bringing together major stakeholders on key issues and working closely with media in the region, CBC has been a catalyst for positive change in such areas as budget reform, government finance, education, transportation, public authority reform, and economic competitiveness.

The research program is grounded in three fundamental beliefs:
1. Serving the interests of the citizenry at large, rather than narrow special interests, should be the beacon that guides public officials as well as the standard for evaluating their performance;
2. It is wrong to waste precious public resources, whether they are financial or human; and
3. It is important to focus on the well-being of future New Yorkers.