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From Study to Ballot

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Government Efficiency August 2026

Twelve Areas of Study Became Five Ballot Questions

COGE's preliminary report, published in June 2026, laid out twelve areas where the City Charter slows government down. Its final report, adopted unanimously on July 23, turned those into five ballot questions. This is where each one landed, and it doubles as a map of the reform work the Charter could not reach.

Six areas reached the ballot in full, one in part, four went to a future commission, and technology went to an appendix

Every area of study in COGE's June 2026 preliminary report, and its disposition in the final report adopted July 23, 2026. Ballot questions go to New York City voters in November 2026.

  • On the ballot
  • Partly on the ballot
  • Future consideration
  • Appendix only
Where each area of COGE's preliminary report landed in its final report
Area studiedOutcomeWhere it landedWhat it does
Revocable consents for public space On the ballot Ballot Question 1 Hearings become discretionary, newspaper notice ends, Council loses its sidewalk cafe veto.
Street infrastructure projects On the ballot Ballot Question 3 Consulted agencies confer only at the agency-head level; a missed consultation can no longer void a project.
Activating unused City property On the ballot Ballot Question 3 Lots under 10,000 sq ft move to the expedited review; the SAIL Away sale program becomes permanent.
Construction permitting On the ballot Ballot Question 4 DOB gets more deputies and is directed to build a centralized permit hub with DEP, FDNY and DOT by 2030.
Waterfront permitting On the ballot Ballot Question 4 Moves from Small Business Services to the Department of Buildings, effective December 31, 2030.
Rainy day fund On the ballot Ballot Question 5 Reserves target set at 12% of prior-year tax revenue; OMB must publish a deposit methodology by May 2027.
Procurement Partly on the ballot Ballot Question 2 and appendix The ballot simplifies the contractor questionnaire and delegates some approvals. The payment reforms sit in local law and pilots.
Franchises and concessions Future consideration FCRC rulemaking COGE concluded the fix is FCRC rulemaking, such as exempting licenses under 90 days, not a Charter change.
Building and construction codes Future consideration A future commission Giving DOB rulemaking authority over the Building Code was studied and left for a future commission.
Duplicative reporting requirements Future consideration A future commission, or the Council COGE counted 2,000+ requirements and 125,000 staff hours a year, then referred the fix onward.
Public officer bonds Future consideration A future commission, or the Council The 19th-century surety bond requirement stays; COGE recommends a future commission or the Council remove it.
Technology and AI Appendix only Final report Appendix The longest chapter of the preliminary report produced no ballot question and no recommendation to a future commission.
Source: COGE Preliminary Report (June 2026) and COGE Adopted Final Report (July 23, 2026) Note: The final report also took up elections, civil service, and ethics and oversight, which were not separate chapters of the preliminary report; all three went to future consideration.

The pattern is consistent. Where the Charter itself creates a delay, such as a mandatory hearing or a duplicated approval, COGE proposed to strike it. Where the delay comes from staffing, State law, or agency practice, COGE documented it and moved on. That is a defensible reading of what a Charter Revision Commission is for, and it explains why technology, civil service, and payment timeliness are absent from the ballot.

It also hands the next actors a to-do list. Civil service reform runs through Albany. Reporting requirements and the surety bond can be fixed by local law. Franchise and concession relief is Franchise and Concession Review Committee rulemaking. Building code authority and technology procurement are waiting for a future commission that takes them up directly.

How the areas are defined: the twelve rows correspond to the twelve sub-sections of the preliminary report's four chapters. Two of them, street infrastructure and activating City property, were combined with office leasing into a single ballot question, and permitting and waterfront permitting were combined into another, which is how twelve areas produce five questions.

Procurement is split deliberately. Ballot Question 2 carries the Charter-level procurement changes. The substantive payment reforms, including advance payments, the discretionary grant pilot, and the umbrella agreement model, appear in the final report's Appendix as administrative commitments.

Sources: COGE Preliminary Report (June 2026); COGE Adopted Final Report (July 23, 2026); NYC Charter Revision Commission.