Comptroller: Funding model outdated

By KAYLEIGH KARUTIS, The Leader-Herald
An outdated method of designating between cities and villages is contributing to a significant disparity in state assistance given to area municipalities, according to a report issued by the state Comptroller’s Office Wednesday.

The report added that the disparity comes even though many provide the same services and face the same economic difficulties cities do.

There are 279 villages in New York state comparable in services provided, population, poverty rates and other characteristics to 52 of the state’s cities. The villages of Northville and Broadalbin in Fulton County and Canajoharie, Fort Plain and St. Johnsville in Montgomery County are among the villages cited in the report.

If a new method to determine the assistance villages receive were to be enacted, one that takes village size, population and the services the village provides to its residents into account, the five local villages mentioned would have received more than $46,000 in additional assistance for the 2007-08 year.

According to the report, current revenue sharing is based on a system that is more than 50 years old and may need an overhaul based on “criteria that focus less on what a municipality is called and more on the services it provides, the needs of its residents, and its economic and financial condition.”

The report groups similar cities and villages into one large group called “smaller urban centers.” A better method of revenue sharing would be to analyze average increases in revenue sharing given to cities classified as “smaller urban centers” and to then apply comparable increases for villages classified as “smaller urban centers,” the report said.

Canajoharie Mayor Leigh Fuller said the services Canajoharie provides to nearby villages are important but also expensive for Canajoharie taxpayers.

“We have a fire department that services Nelliston and Palatine, and children from those villages attend our schools. We provide garbage pickup and have a police force, and our village employees receive medical benefits, and costs for that are increasing. It’s getting tougher and tougher for a village like Canajoharie that provides a lot of service to its own people and to nearby villages,” Fuller said. “It all comes back on the taxpayer. Any aid they can give a village like us would be accepted and would certainly help.”

State Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R-Niskayuna, said the disparity between village and city funding is a definite worry, but he said he would be wary of how much a measure like the one proposed by the Comptroller’s Office could cost, particularly because Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been saying there is no extra money within the state budget.

“This is something that we’re very concerned about and have been aware of, [but there are difficulties in finding where the money will come from],” Farley said. “Do we take from the cities to give villages more or do we just give more money? This is a tough fiscal year and an increase of $10 million could be possible. But when you talk about increases of $100 million, that’s some big money.”

Farley said he is in favor of other measures to help taxpayers, including consolidating services among smaller municipalities in order to become more efficient.

“We want to encourage and give incentives for consolidation and cooperation. The more we have of that, the better it’s going to be,” he said.

The study projected an increase in funding of 48.3 percent to 65 percent for each of the 279 villages in New York state in 2007-08 if the modified methods had been used. That amounts to more than $10 million in overall increased funding over that same period.

Attempts to contact Northville Mayor James Groff were unsuccessful. Broadalbin Mayor Eugene Christopher and Assemblyman George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, were both on vacation and could not be reached.