Under legislation passed in 2005, which established a cap on local Medicaid costs, counties needed to decide by September 2007 to either keep the Medicaid cap or exchange a percentage of their sales tax revenues.

Compared with other states, particularly those in the South and West, significantly fewer subprime loans were issued in New York, although there are areas within the State where subprime mortgages were utilized more frequently. However, the number of home foreclosures in New York is increasing as more homeowners are faced with mortgages of all types that they can no longer afford.

This report briefly describes the impact of the housing market crisis on New York State. The report also highlights the results of a survey by OSC on whether local officials are utilizing the 2009 law requiring foreclosing lenders to maintain vacant or abandoned properties. 

While trends in both new foreclosure filings and the total number of pending foreclosure cases indicate that the problem is far from resolved, there are small signs of improvement.

This brief focuses on prolonged foreclosure activity in New York State and the challenges facing local governments and communities in the wake of the foreclosure crisis.

An overview of the different ways in which public water supplies are provided, regulated and funded in New York State. The report addresses specific concerns facing local governments including funding trends, capital planning practices and the emerging risk areas of contamination and security.

The system for providing fire protection services throughout New York State can be surprisingly complex. This report will provide an overview of the organization, administration, membership benefits, and common OSC audit findings for fire protection entities.

Statewide, foreclosure filings fell by 46 percent between 2013 and 2018. Foreclosure rates are highest in the Long Island and the Mid-Hudson regions. Only four counties—Clinton, Putnam, Rockland, and Suffolk—have a foreclosure rate over 1 percent. Other stakeholders are pursuing efforts to reduce harm to local governments and communities caused by “zombie properties.”

In January 2018, OSC initiated its series of audits to determine whether the MTA and constituent agencies have appropriate oversight and monitoring controls over homeless outreach services on MTA properties and whether they have met the goal of maintaining a safe, secure transit environment by assisting homeless individuals to appropriate shelters off MTA properties.

The New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), administered by the State Department of Civil Service (Civil Service), is one of the nation's largest public sector health insurance programs. NYSHIP covers over 1.2 million active and retired State, local government, and school district employees, and their dependents. The Empire Plan is the primary health benefits plan for NYSHIP, covering 1.1 million of the NYSHIP members.