Suffolk County’s Executive has declared a financial emergency in the county, and it’s “setting off alarm bells for the rest of the state as well” according to the New York Post. Sure, officials can always find fat to slice. (It would be disastrous to hike taxes.) But they need a boost from Cuomo & Co….
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A Nation With Too Many Tax Breaks — Economic Scene – NYTimes.com
Quick link: A NYT piece analyzes the distribution of tax spending (both direct expenditures and “tax expenditures”, i.e. foregone revenue). The debate is around the federal budget, but certainly cities have similar dynamics, in particular in the distribution of revenue collection between residents and businesses, and in structuring the property tax. Read: A Nation With Too…
Deficits Push Municipalities to Desperation – NYTimes.com
Rockland , Suffolk and Nassau Counties in New York are all on the brink of financial emergency (Suffolk has already declared one). Even as there are glimmers of a national economic recovery, cities and counties increasingly find themselves in the middle of a financial crisis. The problems are spreading as municipalities face a toxic mix…
Detroit financial review team hearing
This clip is an interesting glimpse into the financial review process underway in Detroit. Governor Snyder of Michigan proposed a consent agreement that would set up a financial advisory board for the city, removing authority for fiscal decisions from the Mayor and City Council, but falling short of dismantling the city government (which an emergency…
The unkindest cut: automatic triggers
Background on the looming California budget cuts this spring… Every government bases an adopted budget on revenue projections (and engages in a variety of tactics for keeping money flowing out while it waits for that revenue to flow in). Of course, those projections meet reality at some point during the year, and budgets may need…