IN THE NEWS  

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March 9, 2009
Mayor Bloomberg Announces More Than 50,000 New Yorkers Claimed City Child Care Tax Credits Totaling More Than $30 Million in the Program’s First Year Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that in its inaugural year, more than 50,000 New Yorkers claimed the City’s Child Care Tax Credit, one of the first municipal child care tax credits in the nation. The Child Care Tax Credit, which is designed to help more families afford child care and help more parents work full-time, is just one of many successful innovations under the Center for Economic Opportunity which oversees the City’s ambitious anti-poverty strategy.

February 5, 2009
New York City Department of Consumer Affairs Announces Citywide Enforcement Sweep of Income Tax Preparers DCA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz announced the results of the Department’s comprehensive investigation into advertising and sales practices of the City’s income tax preparers. During the first four weeks of the sweep, which began last month and will continue through tax season, DCA inspectors examined more than 430 tax preparation businesses and issued more than 1,200 violations. Top violations included deceptively advertising refund anticipation loans (RALs) as “rapid” or “instant” refunds.

January 27, 2009
Mayor Bloomberg and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Mintz Launch the $aveNYC Account  
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda I. Gibbs and Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz announced the launch of the $aveNYC Account program, a special savings account to help low income New Yorkers make the most of their tax refund by building savings through a privately funded City matching program.

January 26, 2009
DCA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz Testifies Before the City Council Committees on Consumer Affairs and Civil Rights at Their Joint Oversight Hearing on Rent-to-Own Retailers in New York City Citing the need to protect and empower consumers with lower incomes, Commissioner Mintz advocated for DCA licensure of rent-to-own activities, a move that would make New York the first city in the country to regulate this industry.

December 15, 2008
Mayor Bloomberg and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Mintz Launch Public Helpline to Connect New Yorkers to Free Financial Information and Resources They Need During the Economic Downturn  
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz launched "Your Money Helpline," a weeklong phone-a-thon co-sponsored with the Daily News and the City University of New York (CUNY) that provided money management advice and information to more than 9,000 callers, also referring them to the City’s network of free and low-cost financial education services.


February 23, 2009
San Francisco Fair Lending Working Group Presents Findings and Recommendations to the Land Use and Economic Development Committee of the Board of Supervisors (In PDF)
The Fair Lending Working Group, established through the efforts of Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, and Treasurer José Cisneros, is comprised of representatives from community-based organizations that counsel at-risk homeowners, financial service institutions, the mortgage broker industry, real estate professionals, and advocacy groups. The group’s recommendations fall within four policy objectives: preserving homeownership and preventing foreclosure; preventing predatory lending practices; protecting tenants’ rights during and after foreclosure; and ensuring that affordable housing development and retention remain a top City priority.

January 31, 2009
Treasurer José Cisneros, Senator Mark Leno, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell Discourage Use of "Rapid Refund" Loans (In PDF)
Elected Officials joined the United Way, Tax-Aid and the IRS in the Bayview District to discourage tax filers from taking out costly refund anticipation loans and to urge low-income clients to file their taxes for free through the Earn It! Keep It! Save It! coalition.

November 20, 2008
Mayor Gavin Newsom and Treasurer José Cisneros announce over 24,000 accounts opened for Bank on San Francisco clients (In PDF)
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Treasurer José Cisneros announced that 24,714 Bank on San Francisco checking accounts have been opened and remain active since the inception of this groundbreaking program two years ago.

October 10, 2008
Treasurer José Cisneros celebrates the grand opening of Mission SF Federal Credit Union (In PDF)
San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros joined Supervisor Tom Ammiano, Assemblymember Mark Leno and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions to announce the grand opening of the Mission SF Federal Credit Union and Mission SF Community Financial Center.


October 27, 2008
The City of Chicago Joins the Cities for Financial Empowerment to Expand Financial Literacy and Empowerment Initiatives (In PDF)
The Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition today welcomed the City of Chicago as the seventh member of the nation’s first coalition of city governments dedicated to financial empowerment initiatives.


February 20, 2009
New Benefit Bank Allows Miami’s Struggling Families to Maximize Their Benefits (In PDF)
Department of Children and Families’ Chief of Staff Jason Dimitris and William Porro, Special Projects Administrator for City of Miami’s ACCESS Miami, announce the launch of the Benefit Bank at the ACCESS Community Partners Summit. The Benefit Bank electronically connects the State's and City's application processes and offers clients a common Web-based application form for all benefits.

June 21, 2008
Mayor Manny Diaz Hosts Hundreds of Mayors at The U.S. Conference of Mayors 76th Annual Meeting
Senator Barack Obama (IL), the presumptive Democratic Presidential Candidate, today addressed hundreds of mayors during The US Conference of Mayors (USCM) meeting in Miami, hosted by City of Miami Mayor and USCM Vice President Manny Diaz.


Forging a Path Towards Opportunity
Providence City News
Issue 274 - January 8 2009
As the nation grapples with tough financial times, Providence has not waited for additional help from the federal government to address the needs of neighbors with the highest risk of losing their jobs and homes.

September 24, 2008
Mayor David N. Cicilline Invited to Testify before Congressional Committee on City’s Efforts to Reduce Poverty
Mayor David N. Cicilline has been invited by U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer to testify at a hearing before the Joint Economic Committee in Washington, DC. Mayor Cicilline is the only U.S. mayor invited to testify at the hearing entitled Leave No Family Behind: How Can We Reduce the Rising Number of American Families Living in Poverty. The Mayor is expected to highlight efforts underway in Providence to help rebuild the economic ladder for struggling families in tangible, measurable ways.



January 9, 2008
City’s new program boosts economic success for San Antonio families
The City of San Antonio’s Department of Community Initiatives (DCI) is launching a new program funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Making Connections-San Antonio aimed at developing financial wealth and self sufficiency for San Antonio families with the opening of the Center for Working Families (CWF).


Link to Step Up Savannah news & events


September 22, 2008
Mayor announces help for people without bank accounts
Mayor Greg Nickels today launched “Bank on Seattle-King County,” a new initiative to connect people without bank accounts to affordable mainstream financial services including checking, savings, credit and financial education opportunities.

Visit Bank on Seattle-King County