New York State has over 5,000 functioning dams, 861 of which are owned or co-owned by local governments. Local officials need to manage this infrastructure effectively, not only to preserve important capital assets, but also because it is a necessary investment in public safety. This report focuses on those dams that would pose the greatest risks in case of failure and therefore warrant the most careful monitoring and management. The report also discusses steps local officials and residents can take to manage those risks.

A number of laws govern the procurement of goods and services. Seeking competition guards against favoritism, extravagance, fraud and corruption. However, there is a well-established exception to these competitive bidding requirements for professional services, such as those rendered by attorneys, engineers or accountants, where cost is only one element that a responsible local official would want to consider.

Local governments or public authorities own 20 of the State’s 27 municipal solid waste landfills, the type of landfills that take in most of what we typically think of as “garbage”—residential, commercial and institutional waste. This report examines the role of local governments in solid waste management, with particular attention to the issues they confront as municipal solid waste landfill owners.

Chapter 97 of the Laws of 2011 established a property tax levy limit (generally referred to as the tax cap) that restricts the amount of property taxes local governments (including counties, cities, towns, villages, fire districts, and special districts) and school districts can levy. Under this legislation, the property tax levy for affected local governments and school districts cannot increase more than 2 percent, or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, with some exceptions.

Malicious software, or malware, refers to software programs that are designed to harm computer systems. These programs can wreak havoc on both systems and electronic data by, for example, deleting files, gathering sensitive information such as passwords without the computer user’s knowledge and making systems inoperable. Computer users can inadvertently install malware on their computers by many methods, including opening email attachments, downloading content from the Internet or merely visiting infected websites.

To keep public funds safe, officials and cash managers need to understand the requirements they must comply with and the investment limitations and safeguards required of local government investments and deposits. This guide includes the following sections about the fundamentals of investing and protecting local government funds in New York State: • Prudence in Investments • Actively Monitor Cash Flow • Investment of Public Funds • Protection of Deposits and Investments • Investment Policy • Other Topics

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.

Shared services can help municipalities increase effectiveness and efficiency in their operation. As municipal responsibilities become increasingly complex and demanding, municipalities should explore shared services and other cooperative opportunities as a way to reduce or avoid costs, improve service delivery, or maintain services.

This guide describes the types of reserve funds that local governments and school districts can establish and maintain. In general, reserve funds have specific intended purposes and requirements as set forth in law. This guide contains a summary of the many different types of reserve funds authorized by New York State statutes.

This guide is designed to assist local governments and school districts contain certain personal service costs. It is broken down into the following sections: • Containing Health Insurance Costs • Minimizing Unemployment Insurance Costs • Managing Workers’ Compensation Costs • Overtime Planning and Management