State Fiscal Control Boards Matter

State‑created fiscal control boards (or similar oversight bodies) can act as the critical institutional brake on municipal fiscal excess—if governors choose to use them. Absent active enforcement, emergency borrowing and creative accounting can produce multi‑decade cycles of reliance and eventual fiscal crisis, as demonstrated by New York’s 1960s–1970s history and the Financial Control Board’s diminished modern role. — This reframes urban fiscal debates: whether and how state executives deploy statutory oversight (e.g., FCB) is a decisive policy choice that determines whether ambitious city agendas are financially sustainable or prone to collapse.