Fuleihan, Hartzog among those named to New York City IBO advisory board

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams appointed five members to the advisory board of the city's Independent Budget Office on Wednesday.

Two of the appointees, Dean Fuleihan and Melanie Hartzog, were members of former Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration.

The board consists of 10 people appointed by the comptroller and the public advocate for five year staggered terms. Board members act as informal advisors to the IBO.

Formed in 1996, IBO is a publicly funded city agency that provides nonpartisan information about the budget and economy. The IBO has no policymaking role.

Besides Fuleihan and Hartzog, Darrick Hamilton, Paquita Y. Davis-Friday and Henry Garrido were also appointed to the board.

Fuleihan was first deputy mayor and served as OMB director. Previously, he had been chief fiscal and policy advisor for the New York State Assembly.  He was presented with the Municipal Forum of New York's Public Service Award in 2017.

Hartzog is president and CEO of The New York Foundling, a non-profit organization operating programs for child welfare. She previously served as deputy mayor for Health and Human Services and director of the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget.  

Hamilton is the founding director of the New School's Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy and a Henry Cohen professor of economics and urban policy. He was a member of the economic committee for the Biden-Sanders Unity Taskforce.

Davis-Friday is interim dean to the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College. She previously was senior associate dean and executive director of graduate programs at Zicklin.  

Garrido is executive director of District Council 37, the city's largest municipal employees union. He is also a trustee on the workforce investment board and a member of the city's employment retirement system board.

"New Yorkers rely on the Independent Budget Office to be a thoughtful resource for understanding the city's finances, independent of the political process," Lander said in a statement. "This unparalleled group of civic leaders will bring a wealth of diverse experiences to guide the agency's work to provide independent analysis and oversight of the city's finances."

IBO Director Louisa Chafee praised the appointments.

"It is thrilling to have a full IBO advisory board consisting of some of the most accomplished professionals in municipal finance and a range of relevant fields," she said. "With the benefit of their insightful input, I look forward to even more productive seasons of serving the public and elected officials with unbiased budget and economic analysis they can use."