This report highlights the new fiscal realities facing local governments and school districts as they work to comply with the new property tax cap while grappling with the lingering effects of the recent recession. In addition, the report addresses recent audits and summarizes many of the services and activities provided by our Division of Local Government and School Accountability.

This report summarizes the services and activities of the Division of Local Government and School Accountability. Our staff members in Albany and in our eight regional offices across the State are committed to promoting taxpayers’ interests by helping improve the fiscal management of New York’s local governments and schools.

The 2008 Annual Report on Local Governments introduces a new look to the annual local government financial data reported by every county, city, town, village, school district and fire district in New York State. In an effort to promote transparency and accountability, OSC has now made much of the data reported to it from 1996 to 2006 accessible through Open Book New York– a new, user-friendly website that also provides information on spending by State agencies, as well as all State contracts.

While many local governments are in stable financial condition, many are not—particularly upstate urban communities, where population losses and economic decline are eroding their ability to support basic governmental functions. As this report describes, there are very different underlying conditions facing municipalities depending on geography (upstate or downstate) and type of community (city versus suburb).

This annual report highlights major issues facing local governments, building upon the studies and audits from the Division, which are increasingly directed at issues of statewide or regional concern, such as smart growth or the empire zones program.

This report examines the recent history of school aid, highlighting the opportunities and challenges presented by this year’s budget. The first section looks at aid from the school district perspective, followed by a discussion in the context of New York’s overall budget.

This report explains what land banks are, discusses how they can help local governments cope with high concentrations of vacant and abandoned properties and identifies factors that could determine their long-term success.