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.
Layers of Debt: Trends and Implications for New York’s Local Governments [Issued: 10/07]
The analysis contained in this report indicates that, "the level of outstanding debt is becoming a growing financial burden for taxpayers. From 2000 to 2005, taxpayers residing in all but two New York county regions saw increases in overall outstanding debt per capita. Two-thirds of all county regions experienced an increase in total overall outstanding debt as a precent of real property value, and three-quarters saw the ratio of total overall outstanding debt to personal income increase. [read complete Layers of Debt report - pdf]
Decision 2007: Counties and the Medicaid Choice [Issued: 07/07]
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. This research brief analyzes various factors. [read complete Decision report - pdf]
Town Special Districts in New York [Issued: 03/07]
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. It aims to nform policy makers at the State and local levels regarding special districts, their impact on town taxpayers and the town govenrments that administer them. [read complete Town Special Districts report - pdf]
Town Special District Revenue Data (Excel Format):