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NYS Comptroller Issues Albany City Financial Report

401(K) 2013/Creative Commons

  State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report concerning the financial condition of the City of Albany. 
The report shows - that Albany has a high level of poverty - and unable to collect taxes on 59 percent of the properties which are tax-exempt, plus 17 percent of other city properties that are vacant.  Mayor Kathy Sheehan warns Albany faces a $16 million budget shortfall this year

 
The city's child poverty rate stands at 34 percent, the state average is 21 percent. The comptroller's report affirms that the high rate increases demand for social services. 
 
The city is waiting for the August release of a New York State Financial Restructuring Board  report on how to best cut costs. Sheehan remarked the city couldn't possibly tax its way out of the current problem

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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