Hurricane Sandy Dampens Small Town Revenues
Posted at 10:15 a.m. on Jan. 25
“Localities across the New York region, already reeling from the cost of cleaning up from Hurricane Sandy, are confronting the prospect of an even bigger blow to their finances: a precipitous decline in property tax revenues,” according to the New York Times.
“The storm damaged tens of billions of dollars’ worth of real estate, especially in coastal areas of Long Island and New Jersey. As a result, localities can no longer expect to reap the same taxes from properties that have lost much of their value — in some cases, permanently.”
“If localities try to raise overall tax rates to make up for looming deficits, they may touch off a backlash from homeowners with undamaged properties… New York City and county governments in New York are far less reliant on property taxes than localities, so they are expected to have an easier time weathering a drop in the value of the tax base caused by storm damage.
