The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the State of New York for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.

Over the last several years, OSC has increased its oversight of IDA operations through audits and performance reports. The Comptroller also began suspending State tax exemption powers for IDAs that failed to file financial reports. Additionally, the Public Authorities Reform Act that became effective in March 2010, will further enhance IDA transparency by requiring additional reporting on governance, operating structure and financial condition.

IDA Projects in 2008 - .xls

This report seeks to accomplish four important tasks: Reviews pertinent policy issues, assesses current activity levels in New York State, offers strategies for collaboration, proposes fiscally responsible measures, and offers several policy recommendations intended to further enable local government collaboration.

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.

This research brief— focusing mainly on demographic trends—is the first of a series that will examine major issues facing local governments in New York State.

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.

The “Big Five” cities of New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers either are, or have recently been, fiscally distressed. This affects their dependent school systems, which already face significant challenges associated with the socio-economic composition of their students and the age of their facilities.

This research brief measures fiscal stress in cities and includes an overall fiscal profile of each city in the State (except New York City). Of the 61 cities examined, 13 exhibited one or more indicators of severe fiscal stress. The most severely affected cities exhibited stress across multiple factors. Many cities appear to be on the verge of more widespread fiscal difficulties. 

This research brief summarizes issues associated with the property tax, provides an overview of recent trends and analyzes the tax burden across regions and types of local government.

This report supplies context for the current policy discussion on Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs), details major process and accountability issues, describes efforts by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) to improve reporting quality and provides a summary of statistical and financial information from 2004 IDA annual reports.