New York City facing a $185.5 billion financial hole

A new analysis by Truth in Accounting, a non-profit government finance watchdog group, found New York City needs $185.5 billion to pay its bills—a burden that equates to $64,100 for each city taxpayer.

At the end of the 2017 fiscal year, New York City had $244 billion in bills and roughly $58.5 billion in available assets to pay those bills after capital and restricted assets were excluded. The result is a $185.5 billion shortfall and a $64,100 Taxpayer Burden™, which represents each taxpayer's share of city’s unfunded debt after its available assets have been tapped. TIA's Taxpayer Burden indicator incorporates both assets and liabilities, not just pension debt.

New York City’s change from a Taxpayer Burden of $62,500 in 2016 to a Taxpayer Burden of $64,100 in 2017 is largely due to an increase in unfunded retiree health care costs, or other post-employment benefits. These liabilities rose by $16 billion during that time.

The bottom line: New York City needs $185.5 billion to pay all of its bills, or $64,100 from each taxpayer in the city, which is why it received an "F" grade for its fiscal health.

You can find the full report here.