“As the levy growth rate dips below 2 percent, school
district and municipal officials need to be fiscally cautious and examine where
they can limit spending to stay under the cap,” DiNapoli said. “Local
governments will have to examine their budgets more closely to control
expenses.”
The 1.81 percent cap affects the tax cap calculations for
676 school districts as well as 10 cities with fiscal years starting July 1,
2020 including the “Big Four” cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and
Yonkers.
The tax cap, which first applied to local governments and
school districts in 2012, limits annual tax levy increases to the lesser of the
rate of inflation or 2 percent with certain exceptions, including a provision
that allows school districts to override the cap with 60 percent voter approval
of their budget. For the list of allowable tax levy growth factors for all
local governments, visit: www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/realprop/pdf/inflation_allowablegrowthfactors.pdf.
