Managing local government records: A manual for local government officials in New York State

The determined and energetic fight carried on by the miller, the entomologist, and the Local Government in 1889, to stamp out this destructive mill pest in Ontario, is too fresh in the memory of those who witnessed that outbreak to warrant a repetition of the particulars. Suffice it to say that the flour moth is still very abundant in certain Canadian mills. I have received it recently in flour sent me direct from a milling firm in Valleyfield, Quebec, with an urgent appeal for help. The mill has been obliged to shut down several times during the present year to clean out the enormous accumulations of matted flour and webs in the spouts and elevator legs. The mill is a new one and has been running a very short time. It is said the pest came from a neighboring firm. My experience with this moth in California and other places convinces me that it is the worst pest millers have to combat, and this note should be a signal warning to all those interested in the milling business. I have also recently discovered the same pest in Southwestern New York State, where it has done considerable mischief this year, and is still spreading. It has occasioned much loss on the Pacific Coast also the present season. If something is not done to arrest and destroy thisadvancing enemy in the United States and Canada, I predict very serious results to the milling industries of both countries.

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Limits of fiscal federalism: How narratives of local government inefficiency facilitate scalar dumping in New York State

Environment and Planning A Economy and Space ◽

10.1177/0308518x18796511 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 51 (3) ◽

pp. 636-653 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Yunji Kim

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Local Government ◽

Local Governments ◽

Fiscal Federalism ◽

Global Financial Crisis ◽

Local Level ◽

New York State ◽

Fiscal Sustainability ◽

Governance System ◽

York State

US local governments are responsible for a variety of services, based on the assumptions of fiscal federalism that local governments can deliver residents the services they want at the lowest cost. However, an austerity narrative that calls for shrinking public budgets emerged after the 2008 global financial crisis and higher levels of government are dumping fiscal stress down to the local level in a process of “scalar dumping.” How do local governments respond to these austerity pressures and why do we see weak pushback from local governments? Focus groups with local government officials across New York State show local responses are constrained by the combination of a state-level limit on local property taxes and a narrative of local government inefficiency. Although local governments have the legal authority to raise revenues, they are reluctant to use this authority due to political pressure from the state and voters. These pressures encourage local governments to maintain services without adequate revenues. Pushback is weak as local governments lack institutional power in a state-based federal system and the heterogeneity among local governments makes collective action difficult. Fiscal federalism promises efficiency and effectiveness in a decentralized governance system, but has limited ability to counter “scalar dumping” that erodes fiscal sustainability. More balance of power in state–local relationships and a narrative that better connects local taxes and services are necessary.

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