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
Gov. Cuomo today signed a bill that further distances him from the longstanding state policy of tying strong oversight strings to deficit bonding requests from fiscally troubled local governments. Read More
A budget deficit and the threat of a credit downgrade hasn’t stopped Suffolk County from shelling out even more money to its cops, who are already among the highest paid in the country. Read More
With spring training around the corner, let’s compare village dissolution to baseball.Since 1921, 47 village governments have dissolved, but there has been a rise in the number that have tried in recent years—with limited success, a report today found. Read More
E.J. McMahon, head of the Empire Center for Public Policy, a nonprofit Albany think tank that promotes free market principles, questioned whether municipalities will go through the political headaches of consolidating districts in exchange for a short-term, temporary tax freeze. Read More