Tag: Local Government

The Tier 6 pension “reform” enacted by New York last year applies to all state and local employees who join the state Employee Retirement System or the Police and Fire Retirement System after April 1, 2012 Read More

A sweeping but little-noticed provision in Governor Cuomo’s 2013-14 Executive Budget would, in the words of this Article VII bill memo, “eliminate all local government and school district reporting requirements to state agencies unless the Mandate Relief Council votes to continue them.” Read More

“This so-called tax freeze bill is simply an election-year gimmick,” said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for Public Policy, a fiscally conservative think tank. Read More

McMahon pointed out that the number of local governments a county has doesn't matter. "It's the cost of the government services that drive up taxes," he said. "If you get rid of these special districts, you would still have to supply the services." Read More

Critics have challenged Cuomo’s math. U.S. Census data shows that New York has about 3,450 local governments, and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli puts the total at about 3,800. Cuomo is including thousands of special taxing districts, such as ones for lighting and sewer services, that aren’t governments, critics said. Read More

While Cuomo speaks of 10,500 local governments, others say that is overstated. "He is greatly exaggerating," E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center think tank, said of the number, contending that many of those are on paper or so small that they pose negligible costs. Read More

Cities and taxpayers have to decide what’s the best way to utilize tax dollars, said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center. “I think generally speaking … in a perfect world, overtime is the result of extraordinary circumstances or poor management,” he said. “It’s about right-sizing government.” Read More

Local supervisors and one fiscal watchdog say Cuomo is chasing the wrong property tax cost drivers. They blame state mandates such as the Taylor Law, which gives public employee unions additional leverage when negotiating expired contracts, for driving up local taxes. At the same time, they complain, he is taking aim at special districts that, even if eliminated, would still cost taxpayers because they provide specific services for a locality’s residents. Read More