The growing fiscal problems of many local governments in New York State are prompting more talk about consolidation of services and mergers of local governments. Some influential voices in western New York, echoing former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra, continue to push for a regional approach. And Rochester Mayor Tom Richards has spoken frequently about the need to “find a new way to finance cities,” which seems to imply reliance on a broader tax base on either the state or regional level.
However, those who view bigger, broader government as a potential panacea should carefully consider the points in this New Geography post by demographer and policy consultant Wendell Cox. According to Cox, the data on per-capita local government spending actually suggest the reverse: when it comes to local government smaller is better. His May 2008 study for New York’s Association of Towns, Government Efficiency: The Case for Local Control, is a real keeper in this context.
You may also like
Counties’ Medicaid role dwindles
New enrollment numbers from the state-run health insurance exchange confirm a trend relevant to budget talks in Albany: The role of local governments in signing people up for Medicaid is smaller than ever. Read More
A lesson on apprenticeships
The raw politics behind giveaways to building trade unions were on display last week in Troy, a city outside Albany. Read More
Cuomo extends costly arbitration law
Three years ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo blew a rare opportunity to fundamentally reform one of the most costly provisions of the New York State law regulating public-sector collective bargaining.
Now he's about to blow it again. Read More
Local govs score with better websites
In 2014, the Empire Center created guidelines for what information local governments and school districts should make available on their websites—and found that most of the state's 500 largest municipalities and districts were not meeting that standard. Read More
“Warning”: taxes might not rise
Don't look now, but given current inflation trends, next year's school property tax cap may be ... zero!
That's the message of a statement released last week by the Educational Conference Board (ECB), a coalition of groups representing public school administrators, school boards and—last but hardly least—the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) labor union.
The ECB's "warning" was meant as an inside-the-Albany-bubble scare tactic, but for most New Yorkers, it's good news: further confirmation that the tax cap is working exactly as intended. Read More
Local websites improve bit by byte
Good news to cap off Sunshine Week: at least some local government and school officials are working to make their websites more useful and informative. Read More
Local tax cap may dip in ’15
The property tax cap for New York counties, towns and villages with fiscal years starting January 1, 2015 will start at 1.56 percent, slightly lower than last year's starting rate of 1.66 percent. The cap in each locality will vary based on the amount of applicable allowable exclusions for growth in local property values. Localities also will be able to exclude the amount by which the change in pension contributions exceeds two percentage points Read More
Bill repeals local control of cop discipline
A bill rushed to passage by both houses of the Legislature last week would gut local control of police discipline by deeming it a subject of collective bargaining throughout the state.
The bill can be seen as a fresh test of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's commitment to "transform" a state dominated by public employee unions. Read More