New York’s State Comptroller has issued a report on local government finances that sounds a strong alarm. Local governments across New York State are collecting less in taxes, burning through their cash reserves and running up deficits. Differing visions emerge of where this leaves local governments, and the state: As he has in the past,…
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Muni Bond legislation
As the Libor scandal unfolds, scrutiny turns to other bond markets, including the municipal bond industry’s price-setting institutions. The Municipal Market Data index (MMD) sets rates that “influence a much smaller market than Libor, but it is one that is crucial to how cities and states across America borrow money to maintain roads and bridges…
Return of Debtors’ Prisons – NYTimes.com
A bit far afield maybe, but an interesting bit of fallout from the recession and the continued squeezing of government: This devastating problem has gotten far worse the past five years, the result of budget-strapped state courts looking for sources of revenue and ever more poor people becoming ensnared in the court system. For decades,…
Thousands of towns face budget squeeze in downturns wake – Economy Watch
Sean Mulvey, the newly appointed finance director for the town of East Greenbush, N.Y., is trying to solve a riddle facing cities and towns across the country. Though property tax revenues in the Albany suburb have yet to recover from the worst housing collapse since the Great Depression, fixed expenses like long-term contracts, debt interest…
Scranton, Pa., slashes workers pay to minimum wage – Bottom Line
Unions representing civil servants in the city of Scranton, Pa., are girding for battle after the mayor announced recently that he would be cutting pay for police, firefighters, garbage collectors and other public workers to minimum wage. … The lawsuit will be among several legal actions the unions may take after Doherty made the announcement…