A new database will give taxpayers a frame of reference and a new way to compare their numbers with other towns when tax bills come this year.
The Empire Center for Public Policy announced this month a new database on its SeeThroughNY Web site, named Benchmarks, which allows visitors to compare any state municipalities by how much money they spend per capita.
The database does not allow different types of municipalities to be compared, like towns and counties, as many of the municipalities have overlapping jurisdictions, such as villages being parts of towns.
The information for the database was acquired though government agencies, like the Office of State Comptroller for expenditures and the U.S. Census Bureau for estimated populations. Calculations to get per-capita figures were done by ECFNYSP staff.
The town with the highest expenditures per capita is the Town of Troupsburg, which spent $1,007 for each of its residents, while the town with the lowest expenditures per capita is the Town of Canisteo, which the Empire Center reports spent only $172 per resident…
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