The City of Elmira has taken measures to control expenditures through management efficiencies, while still recognizing the importance of investment in infrastructure and economic development initiatives.

Despite its strong tax base, the Town of Colonie has struggled financially in the past decade. However, between a series of property tax increases, including a one-time tax in 2009, and an arrangement to have a private contractor operate the Town’s landfill, Colonie experienced a stronger financial position at the end of 2011 than it had seen since 2002.

Like many other "Rust Belt" cities, Buffalo suffered a decline as transportation patterns shifted and manufacturing facilities shut down. However, Buffalo still benefits from its location on the Canadian border and the City, with State and private sector support, has recently made significant efforts to promote new development.

The decline in manufacturing has contributed to the City of Binghamton’s high rates of unemployment and poverty compared to statewide averages. The City must also contend with constraints upon its ability to raise revenues.

Albany had no available general fund balance between 2002 and 2006. Subsequently, the City’s available balance grew to a high of $19.8 million in 2008 before declining in the wake of the 2007-09 recession. Standard and Poor’s Rating Services rates the City of Albany’s general obligation debt at AA-, at the low end of its second-highest rating category. The City has formally applied to the Governor’s Financial Restructuring Board for Local Governments for assistance and has been accepted by the Board.

This report seeks to inform that debate by examining the economic and fiscal histories of these other cities between 1980 and 2010, a period characterized by divergent trends for different groups of cities in the Empire State.

Why didn’t you see it? There was fraud and you missed it. Conducting a “should of” after a fraud happens may show that red flags were present. If you had only recognized the warning signs, then that loss may not have occurred or been substantially reduced. Based on a recent survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), occupational fraud substantially increases organizational costs. It is a myth that fraud is a big scheme that should have been uncovered sooner and easy to detect.

This booklet contains the suggested application and legal notice form for an exclusion of certain sewer debt from a municipality’s Constitutional debt limit.

This follow-up report expands the analysis of the previous report; updating annual local government financial data and contrasting that to the associated local financial infrastructure needs in the most recent New York State studies. It also draws upon a new series of interviews with local officials to assess how they are working to provide the best infrastructure possible to their residents.

Local governments’ infrastructure needs are substantial and growing, while their ability to maintain their investments in capital programs is increasingly constrained. State policy changes could help reverse this trend..