ALBANY _ Westchester County spends more than any large county in the state on a per-person basis, and Rochester the most of any large city outside New York City, according to a report released Wednesday.
The findings are part of a new "benchmarking'' database compiled by a business group and a conservative think tank that allows the public to see what the tax and spending rates are of where they live, and to compare them with other counties, cities, towns and villages.
Click here to see the database, then click on the "benchmarks" icon
"We created this as a tool for citizens to ask questions,'' said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative think tank. The head of the state Business Council said the database could force more efficiencies in government, as citizens see how their communities compare with others.
"This information will give people a better handle on value'' they get for their taxes, said Kenneth Adams. He said the figures might suggest service consolidations or other ways to save money, and also noted that property taxes in the state are 79 percent above the national average.
Among the findings from such comparisons:
-- While Rochester had the highest per-capita spending of the large cities, $2,141, Albany had the highest per-capita tax burden ($1,131) and Buffalo the highest effective property-tax rate in relation to the value of the property (1.54 percent of property value.) Among all of the state's 60 cities outside New York City, White Plains had the highest taxes per person, ($1,544), Rye was second ($1,343) and Salamanca, Cattaraugus County, was the lowest ($319.)
-- Westchester had the highest spending per capita ($2,479) of any county government, but was not the leader in per-capita taxes, where Nassau County came out on top at $1,150. Among all counties, Hamilton County, with 5,000 people the smallest county by population but the largest by area, collected the most taxes per person, $1,606. Nassau was second, followed by another county in the Adirondacks, Warren, at $1,255. Westchester was fourth, at $1,201. Lowest was Orleans, along Lake Ontario between Buffalo and Rochester: $609.
Binghamton had the most debt per person of any city: $2,853. White Plains and Poughkeepsie tied for most spending on public safety per person: $706 a year. And Geneva spent the most on sanitation: $662.
The numbers are all from 2007 and were compiled initially by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who praised the new database.
"The more New Yorkers know about how their government works, the better and more accountable their government will be,'' he said.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has proposed letting citizens vote directly on whether to consolidate local governments, said the new database "compliments my own efforts to give the tools to New Yorkers to find efficiencies and empower communities to reform their local governments.'' The data doesn't include education spending, which the groups hope to add within a few weeks.
seethroughny.net, Jay Gallagher-Gannett Albany Bureau