Budget

Kudos to the NYS State Comptroller, but …

December 9, 2011 Budget

My last post, Yes, Rockland County is in Trouble, was devoted to the release by New York’s Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, of an Audit (PDF) of Rockland’s financial condition. Clearly, the Comptroller and his staff have been watching closely enough to start their audit earlier this year. Good for them. Carefully done audits take time and […]

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Yes, Rockland County is in Trouble

December 9, 2011 Budget

Yesterday, after taking a quick look at the budget numbers and actions for 2012, I asked the question, is Rockland County (NY) in trouble? The answer is yes. This morning, the NYS Comptroller released the following (the emphases are mine): DiNAPOLI: POOR BUDGET PRACTICES HURTING ROCKLAND COUNTY County Has Incurred Large Debt and General Fund […]

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Genesse County, NY Budget History

December 7, 2011 Budget

Going back to 1991, Genesee County, NY has a nice history of its key overall budget figures here. In Firefox, the table runs off the side of the browser page, but it works fine in the latest versions of Chrome and Safari. I didn’t check it with Internet Explorer. In any case, it’s readable. It […]

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New York County Property Tax Increases for 2012 & Other Budget Notes, Update 1

December 7, 2011 Budget

The results are beginning to come in on New York’s county budgets for 2012. Got a long way to go, but figured to start posting rather than wait for a more complete report. Albany 8.7 percent increase ($6,572,032) to $81,971,723. This is 19.5 percent increase in three years. Set stage for pay increase for legislators […]

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Another County Nursing Home on the Block

December 2, 2011 Budget

The county nursing home dramas continue to play out around New York. Here’s another one. Orange County (NY) Executive, Ed Diana submitted a 2012 budget that only had six months funding for the county nursing home, Valley View Center. The Legislature restored the missing six months funding. However, Diana vetoed the restoration. So now the […]

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“We’re on a Roll”

December 2, 2011 Budget

How could, “we’re on a roll,” not be the quote of the day for budget geeks, especially in New York? Last night, New York Citizen One (formerly Albany Citizen One, but now renamed in honor of her expanding empire) attended the Audit & Finance Committee of the Albany County Legislature as they finalized their budget […]

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Intergovernmental Money Movement, Especially Downhill

November 29, 2011 Budget

Little considered or included in public discussions of property tax caps, or limitations on governmental expenditures are intergovernmental financial relationships. This is not merely a matter of mandates but recognition that very large sums of money flow back and forth between all levels of government. What is expenditure for one level of government is often […]

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Sales Tax Increase Flops for Saratoga; They Go for Property Tax Increase and Cuts

November 19, 2011 Budget

As expected, key members of the State Senate, told Saratoga County officials not to plan on a local sales tax increase (which requires permission from the State Legislature and Governor), to balance the County budget. It was unlikely from the beginning. The State approved extensions of existing taxes during the current year, but approved no […]

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Left Hand, Meet Right Hand

November 15, 2011 Budget

It appears that this coming Thursday, New York State will bless the construction of a new Albany County Nursing Home. I wrote a bit about it a couple weeks ago when County Legislators began to talk privately about their hopes that the State would take them off the hook and disapprove the application. On the […]

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“Balanced” Budgets are Fine When You Have Plenty of Cash, but Balance May Not be Enough to Prevent a Crash

November 14, 2011 Budget

When I was a young Air Force pilot, one of the greybeards that I flew with counseled me that the most important job of an Aircraft Commander was “managing the margin of error.” Flying close to home, with less than a full load, or in good weather was much different from flying over the Pacific, […]

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