Real Property Services, Office of
skip breadcrumbs| Category | Available 2008-09 |
Appropriations Recommended 2009-10 |
Change From 2008-09 |
Reappropriations Recommended 2009-10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Operations | 48,373,000 | 32,557,000 | -15,816,000 | 0 |
| Aid To Localities | 21,397,000 | 13,965,000 | -7,432,000 | 0 |
| Total | 69,770,000 | 46,522,000 | -23,248,000 | 0 |
| Program | 2008-09 Estimated FTEs 03/31/09 |
2009-10 Estimated FTEs 03/31/10 |
FTE Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policy and Organizational Support Services | |||
| General Fund | 0 | 293 | 293 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 358 | 35 | -323 |
| Total | 358 | 328 | -30 |
Note: Most recent estimates as of 12/16/08.
Mission
The Office of Real Property Services is statutorily charged with the general supervision of local property tax administration in New York. The Office plays a major role in developing the State’s property tax policy and helps local governments with property tax administration including the necessary review and equalization of local assessments for purposes of taxation. Through targeted local assistance programs and incentives, the Office is committed to improving and transforming the local property tax system in New York State into a more efficient, equitable and cost-effective operation, statewide.
Budget Highlights
The 2009-10 Executive Budget recommends $46.5 million in All Funds appropriations ($41.1 million General Fund; $5.4 million Other Funds) for the Office of Real Property Services. This is a decrease of $23.2 million from the 2008-09 budget, consisting of a $19.7 million increase in the General Fund offset by a $42.9 million decrease in Other Funds. This net change reflects savings from ongoing efforts to achieve administrative efficiencies and reductions in discretionary local assistance funding. In addition, the majority of funding for agency operations is shifted to the General Fund with a fee increase necessary to address an accumulated shortfall in dedicated revenues.
The Executive Budget recommends a staffing level of 328 FTEs for the Office of Real Property Services, a decrease of 30 from the 2008-09 budget that is attributable to continued application of the hiring freeze and reduced staffing needs from a restructuring of agency administrative support functions.
Major budget actions include:
- Administrative Efficiencies: The Executive Budget seeks greater operational efficiencies for the Office through a host agency arrangement with the Department of Taxation and Finance that will reduce overall costs for administrative support by approximately $700,000 on a full annual basis. The agency also plans to reduce its central office lease expense to achieve approximately $1.0 million in full-annual savings beginning in 2010-11.
- Targeted Reductions in Local Assistance: The Executive Budget proposes to limit the Agency’s local assistance funding to its core, statutory aid programs by completing a multiyear phase-out of aid for administration of the STAR program for $3.3 million in savings and by eliminating $4.1 million in discretionary grant funding to promote changes in local property tax administration.
- Restructured Funding of Agency Operations: The Executive Budget proposes to fund most of the Office’s operations directly from the General Fund, discontinuing the use of a Special Revenue account that has experienced a deficit in recent years. This accumulated deficit, caused by declining revenues from a real property transfer fee that supports agency operations, is addressed by increasing the fee from $50 to $100 for housing cooperatives, from $75 to $125 for residential property, and from $165 to $250 for commercial property.
2009-10 Executive Budget — Agency Presentation
Real Property Services, Office of (PDF)