Local sales tax collections in New York State were $17.5 billion in 2018, a 5.3 percent increase over the previous calendar year and the third consecutive year that growth in collections improved. Certain economic factors may be contributing to this improvement--more than 62,000 additional New York residents were employed in 2018, total wages for the first two quarters increased by nearly 5.7 percent compared to the same period in the prior year, consumer confidence has remained high and consumer spending has been mostly steady throughout the year.

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.

New York’s counties, cities, towns, and villages frequently utilize local development corporations (LDCs) and other private entities for economic development and other activities. These LDCs and similar private entities are exempt from many of the constitutional and statutory provisions that guide the operations and financial transactions conducted by local governments, increasing the risk of waste, fraud, or abuse of taxpayer dollars or assets.

The purpose of this report is to help shed light on how town special improvement districts are structured, how they operate, and what fiscal burden they impose on property owners.

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 paper is intended to help stimulate a vigorous debate on smart growth in New York State by providing a general background and helping to define major issues. New York has a unique urban and natural heritage, and a rich diversity of communities, many of which need to be brought back to a healthy condition. These resources need to be conserved and developed wisely, in an economically sustainable and environmentally sound manner.

The report reinforces the importance of cooperation and consolidation in achieving local cost efficiencies, especially during these times of fiscal uncertainty. The report also provides tips to local officials interested in exploring greater degrees of cooperation with other local governments, promotes further exploration of service delivery on a regional basis and lists many resources available on these topics.

This report describes the fiscal challenges facing school districts in New York State. As with other classes of government, school districts have struggled to maintain fiscal balance in the midst of rising costs and declining economic conditions. |  [Regional Profiles]

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.

Unrestricted aid to local governments – known as revenue sharing – is State aid that can be used for any local government purpose. The intended goal is to redistribute tax dollars broadly to municipalities which do not have the tax base or taxing authority to generate this revenue on their own.