Tag: Local Government

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

Call him the million-dollar cop. Old Westbury Police Chief Daniel E. Duggan retired last year after 40 years on the force with a salary and severance package totaling more than $1 million, according to village records. Read More

The state's property-tax cap has saved New York homeowners as much as $7.6 billion in school taxes since it was enacted in 2011, a report Tuesday contended. Read More

Many municipalities in New York have begrudgingly borrowed to pay off annual pension costs in recent years, but they are doing less of it, state records show. Read More

Per-pupil spending in the 669 school districts outside New York’s five largest cities will climb next year by 2.5 percent, nearly twice the projected inflation rate, according to an analysis released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. The analysis indicates that school districts' per-pupil property tax levies will increase by 2.1 percent in 2015-16. Read More

Well, wouldn’t you know it. The biggest winners in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tax-freeze program are homeowners in Scarsdale, the Lower Hudson Valley’s richest municipality, who received the highest average checks statewide in the first year of the property-tax rebate program. Read More

Municipalities are not required by law to maintain websites. They come with a cost, they need to be maintained and they require a certain amount of in-house computer savvy to keep current. Nevertheless, good websites should be part of every municipal package because their value to taxpayers is well worth the effort. Several area municipalities took that seriously after receiving a failing grade last November when the Empire Center for Public Policy released a SeeThroughNY Website Report Card on municipal websites. The center examined 500 websites for contact information, spending date, labor contracts and public meeting records, and the ease of locating those items, and graded them accordingly. Read More

Should New York State do more to help Western New York deal with the growing tax burden? Read More