New York City Comptroller

The Office of Comptroller of New York City is the chief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the city. The comptroller is elected, citywide, to a four-year term and can hold office for three consecutive terms. The current comptroller is Democrat Scott Stringer, the former Borough President of Manhattan. Stringer was elected on November 5, 2013.

The comptroller is responsible for auditing the performance and finances of city agencies, making recommendations regarding proposed contracts, issuing reports on the state of the city economy, marketing and selling municipal bonds, and managing city debt. The comptroller also "is the custodian and investment advisor to the Boards" of the five pension funds which are collectively referred to as "NYC Public Pension Funds" or "New York City pension funds". The funds collectively amounted to US$158,700,000,000 as of September 30, 2014. The comptroller's regulations are compiled in title 44 of the New York City Rules.

The office was created as an appointive office in 1801. Thirty years later, the comptroller became head of the department of finance. In 1884 the office became elective, and in 1938 the comptroller became head of a separate, independent department of the City's government. Until it was found unconstitutional in 1989, the comptroller served on the eight-member New York City Board of Estimate, which was composed of the Mayor of New York City, the comptroller and the president of the New York City Council, each of whom was elected citywide and had two votes, and the five Borough presidents, each having one vote.

If vacancies should simultaneously occur in the offices of Mayor of New York City and New York City Public Advocate (formerly president of the city council or board of aldermen), the comptroller would become acting mayor. These have been the three offices elected citywide, so traditional practice has tried to balance a winning three-candidate ticket among the city's different ethnic, religious and political interests (and, more recently, between the sexes). But, while there is a delicate interaction between the campaigns for the three offices, the actual election results can sometimes differ quite markedly.