This report provides a number of ideas and explains efforts undertaken by various municipal officials or identified through audits conducted by OSC that are applicable to most local governments, and that address costs that are under local control.
Local sales tax collections for all of New York State, including New York City, declined by 8.9 percent, or $640 million, over the first seven months of 2009 compared to the same period the year before.
This report analyzes historical trends in local capital spending and the current condition of our local infrastructure. It suggests some important steps that the State and local governments need to take to improve capital planning within New York. Finally, it suggests some policy options that could help sustain investment in the State’s infrastructure and encourage more coordinated, regional approaches to investment.
Overall, county sales tax collections (excluding New York City) continued to fall during the third quarter of 2009 (July-September), declining by 7.9 percent, although collections at New York’s automobile dealerships actually increased compared to the same quarter in 2008, suggesting that the Car Allowance Rebate System (also called “Cash for Clunkers”) moderated the decline.
School districts across New York state, including New York City, face a potential funding gap of at least $2 billion when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding runs out in 2011-12 unless federal aid is renewed or replaced by State aid.
View a district-by-district breakdown of ARRA funding - .xls
The recent closure of the Lake Champlain Bridge in Essex County (also known as the Crown Point Bridge) highlights the importance of New York's bridges to the regional economies in which they are located. Currently, there are 93 bridges in use in New York State with a safety rating at or below that given to the Lake Champlain Bridge prior to its closure.
County sales tax collections (not including New York City) declined by 5.9 percent in 2009 compared to 2008. Fifty-three of 57 counties had sales tax declines.
County Sales Tax Collections 2007-2009 - Including New York City - pdf
New York’s dairy farms are a vital part of the upstate economy. Dairy industry losses in local communities have a ripple effect throughout their economies, negatively impacting local businesses that provide supplies or services to dairy farms, and the property and sales tax base.
According to Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) records, there are currently 4,172 local government entities in New York. These include over 1,600 county, city, town and village governments, as well as 697 school districts and 872 fire districts. The nearly 1,000 other local government entities include libraries, community colleges, industrial development agencies and consolidated health districts, among others.
The report is an update to a report on the sales tax first issued in 2006, "Local Government Sales Taxes in New York State." The report highlights new issues related to this important revenue source, including the potential impact of the upcoming 2010 Decennial Census on the share of tax revenues flowing to individual governments.
