Empire Center report highlights local-government consolidation options

Shared services, dissolution, and mergers remain workable options for taxpayers and local elected officials facing challenging fiscal situations and historically high taxes in New York state, according to a report issued today by the Empire Center for Public Policy.

“The streamline search: options for NY localities,” the fourth installment in the Empire Center’s Empire Ideas project, outlines cost-saving steps that the 1,600 local governments (counties, cities, towns, and villages) in New York can consider. The report illustrates how municipalities can work together to provide services, details steps residents can take to start a government merger or dissolution, and highlights the successful 2013 consolidation of the two governments in Princeton, NJ, according to the Empire Center.

The Albany–based Empire Center for Public Policy — which calls itself an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank — generally focuses its research on the issues of government spending and taxes in New York.  The Empire Ideas project consists of research papers and public forums designed to promote ways that elected officials, community groups and concerned taxpayers can improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of local governments and school districts, the Empire Center says.

The center issued the report in conjunction with the Center for Governmental Research and GovWorks Consulting.

“This report highlights some of the tools available to citizens and elected officials who are looking for ways to reduce the cost of local governments while maintaining services,” Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center, said in a news release. “There is no ‘one size fits all’ answer. Sharing services, merging or dissolving aren’t the only options for saving money, but they do deserve to be part of the conversation.”

One of those options, a village dissolution, has become increasingly prevalent this decade. Since the start of 2010, nine villages in New York state have dissolved, according to the Empire Center report. That’s up from just one dissolution in the entire decade before.

And, municipalities may soon see increased incentives for pursuing cost-saving combinations. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget for fiscal 2015 would link a temporary state-subsidized property tax rebate to efforts by local governments to reduce costs through shared services or consolidation, according to the Empire Center’s news release.

 Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com