The next government fiscal crisis is boiling over in counties and municipalities, and taxpayers again are catching the heat. WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…
New York's state Legislature chose not pass the urgent pleas of local governments including Rockland County, the City of Long Beach, Suffolk and Nassau counties, Buffalo and Newburgh during the 2012 legislative session that ended last week.
The local governments sought permission to spread debt payments or increase local sales taxes, among other measures.
Some local governments say these were the final steps before bankruptcy as they struggle to pay rising pension costs, payrolls and more on a shrinking and overburdened tax base.
But in Albany, the Senate's Republican majority said it's time for government fiscal crises to be solved by cutting spending, not raising taxes. The GOP blocked the requests.
Tristan O’Neill, WAMC News.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.