Local Government and School Accountability
Publications: Research Reports
Since 2003, the Division has been using the information OSC collects from local governments to produce research reports on major policy issues facing local governments and state policy-makers. Published under the Issues in Focus series, as brief bulletins on hot topics or as stand-alone reports, these publications help inform the public policy debate with data and analysis.
Report on the Private Sales of Bonds: August 13, 2010 through June 30, 2011 [Released 12/29/11]
Chapter 386 of the Laws of 2010 (the Act) amended Local Finance Law §63.00 to increase from $1.0 million to $5.0 million the maximum amount of bonds certain local government entities annually may sell at private, rather than public, sale. This grant of authority is scheduled to expire on June 1, 2012. This law also required the State Comptroller to report on such private sales conducted from the effective date of the Act through June 30, 2011, and required affected local government entities to report applicable private sales to the Comptroller. [read complete Private Sales of Bonds report - pdf]
Local Government Snapshot: 2010 Census: Implications for New York State’s Local Governments [Released 10/13/11]
New York State’s population increased by 2.1 percent between 2000 and 2010 – the fifth slowest rate of growth among all states nationwide. Although the State’s total population growth was relatively stagnant, the changes have been more pronounced at the local and regional levels. [read complete 2010 Census Snapshot - pdf]
Local Government Snapshot: Local Government Information Security: The Cost of Inadequate Protections [Released 08/12/11]
New technologies are transforming the way we handle information. Web-based applications for completing day-to-day transactions, telecommuting of municipal staff, online banking, and increased reliance on personal communication devices all represent activities that are now considered “business as usual” in governmental operations. Along with these advances comes the responsibility to protect confidential information adequately so that it cannot be accessed by unauthorized individuals. Failure to do so can come at a considerable financial cost. The Duanesburg School District is one of several entities in recent years that have experienced the financial impact of a cyber attack, after hackers successfully transferred $3 million of school district funds into overseas bank accounts. [read complete Information Security Snapshot - pdf]
Local Government Snapshot: Local Government Spending on Highways [Released 07/13/11]
New York’s 57 counties (excluding New York City), 61 cities, 932 towns and 556 villages reported spending nearly $2.6 billion to maintain 187,000 highway lane miles in 2009. Highway maintenance is one of the largest categories of expense for local governments, representing 7.6 percent of total local government expenditures. Nearly 80 percent of highway spending occurs at the town and county levels. [read complete Highway Spending Snapshot - pdf]
Annual Performance Report on New York State's Industrial Development Agencies [Released 07/12/11]
The 115 IDAs operating in the State in 2009 are just one type of entity that performs economic development functions. Additionally, there are 279 local development corporations (LDCs) operating in New York State, many of which were also created for economic development purposes. A number of the State’s most populous areas have multiple IDAs and LDCs. For example, there are 40 IDAs and LDCs in New York City, 21 in Erie County, 19 each in Monroe and Westchester counties, and 14 each in Albany and Orange counties. [read complete IDA report - pdf]
Local Government Snapshot: Reducing the Cost of Tax Assessment Through Shared Services [Released 05/05/11]
Real property tax assessment is an important function of local governments. In 2009, New York’s city, county, town and village assessing units spent nearly $132 million and employed roughly 1,350 certified assessors, tax directors and assessment appraisers.
According to the Office of Real Property Tax Services (ORPTS), New York arguably has the most complex property tax system in the nation. Most states have fewer than 100 assessing units; only seven have over 500. New York has approximately 1,110. Local governments should explore sharing this function to achieve costsavings and improve the quality of assessments. [read complete May Snapshot - pdf]
Municipal Use of Local Development Corporations and Other Private Entities: Division of Local Government and School Accountability Background, Issues and Recommendations [Released 04/14/11]
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. For example, LDCs and similar entities are not subject to public procurement laws that require certain contracts to be bid competitively, and the debt that these entities issue, even if for the benefit of a local government, is not subject to the limits on debt established for most municipalities in the New York State Constitution. The use of LDCs and similar organizations to finance local government operations and projects increases the risk of waste, fraud, or abuse of taxpayer dollars or assets. [read complete LDC report - pdf]
Local Government Snapshot: Fiscal Impact of Proposed School Aid Cuts [Released 03/17/11]
The 2011-12 Executive Budget proposes a $1.5 billion net cut in State aid to schools, which would result in a 7.3 percent decrease in aid to districts statewide, translating to a 2.9 percent reduction to total general fund budgets. This net cut is the result of maintaining certain aid programs at the prior year’s level, allowing growth in several other aid programs, and imposing a $2.8 billion "gap elimination adjustment" (GEA) on all but the building and universal pre-kindergarten aid programs. [read complete March Snapshot - pdf] | [read District by District report - pdf]
Research Brief - Staying Ahead of the Curve: School Districts Responding to Fiscal Challenges [Released 03/14/11]
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. A series of 22 financial indicators were analyzed to assess the fiscal condition of school districts. [read complete Research Brief - pdf] | [read regional profile report]
Local Government Snapshot: January 2011 - Sales Tax Collections Improve in 2010; County Collections Still Shy of 2008 [Released 02/04/11]
Local sales tax collections grew by 9.9 percent in 2010 compared to 2009, when sales tax collections declined by 6.0 percent. However, nearly a third of this growth was due to a sales tax rate increase in New York City. Adjusting for this tax increase, the growth in sales tax collections in 2010 would have been about 7 percent. [read complete January Snapshot report - pdf]