New York State Assembly - Catalog of State and Federal Programs Aiding New York's Local Governments

MEMBERS
Assemblyman SAMUEL COLMAN Chairman
Senator STEPHEN M. SALAND Vice-Chairman
From the Assembly: DAVID F. GANTT NANCY CALHOUN ROBERT C. OAKS	From the Senate: NANCY LARRAINE HOFFMANN JESS J. PRESENT CAESAR TRUNZO ANTHONY R. NANULA
STAFF Arthur B. Porter, III Executive Director Eric R. Peterson Deputy Director
Catherine A. Bent Janice Connally Joseph Krausman Robert G. Matthews	Linda C. McCarthy Curt Miller Deborah L. Paris William J. Ryan

As the newly appointed Chair of the Legislative Commission on State-Local Relations, it is my pleasure to introduce you to our 1997 edition of the Catalog of State and Federal Programs Aiding New York's Local Governments.

In December 1986, the Commission issued its first catalog of State and federal programs aiding communities in New York. The information in the catalog was essential to the Commission's fulfillment of its interrelated goals of conducting an ongoing evaluation of 1) New York State's system of aid to localities, 2) the division of responsibilities among the State and local governments, 3) State mandates on local governments, and 4) State imposed limits on local taxing and borrowing.

In the years since, subsequent editions of the Catalog have offered State and local officials and the public-at-large a valuable reference tool for understanding the complex flows of aid dollars and program responsibilities in New York.

With each new edition, the Commission worked to enhance and improve the content, organization and presentation of information in the Catalog. That work was formally recognized when the Fourth Edition of the Catalog was chosen by the Government Information Roundtable of the New York State Library Association to receive its 1994 Notable Documents Award. This award is presented to outstanding documents produced by New York State government agencies. The Fifth Edition, issued two years ago, was further improved with the addition of more than 100 new programs including, for the first time, programs of technical assistance to local governments.

Revision of this Catalog every two years is necessary to produce the most complete, up-to-date printed guide to local aid in New York. Let me say that the Catalog has been of tremendous use to me in my work as a State Legislator, and I hope this new edition helps all users gain a greater understanding of intergovernmental relations here in New York.

The 1997 edition of the Catalog of State and Federal Programs Aiding New York's Local Governments would not have been possible without the cooperation and support of many program managers, budget analysts, bureau chiefs and commissioners of State and Federal agencies. Although we cannot list every individual's name, we are grateful to all for their assistance and patience.

This volume of information was compiled by the staff of the Legislative Commission on State-Local Relations from a comprehensive survey of all New York State agencies and several United States agencies. Special note must be made of the agencies' commitment to producing the most complete printed guide to local aid in New York. I would like to extend special recognition to Deborah L. Paris and Janice Connally of my staff. Without their untiring efforts, this catalog could not have been completed.

Thanks to Linda Braun of the New York State Library for contributing the updated chapter on grant funding and also to Ron Barrett of Assembly Graphics for the cover design. Special thanks also to the Assembly Print Shop for their efforts in assembling this information.

The Commission on State-Local Relations was created to aid in the formation of a strong relationship between the State and its counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts and other units of government. Since state-local relations are a continuous function, complex state-local systems cannot remain static but must be continually adjusted to maintain their effectiveness. The dynamics of governmental growth and shrinkage constantly create new problems which result in a continuing legislative concern about the structure of intergovernmental relations and fiscal interdependence of states and their local governments. In order to aid in the efficiency of providing government services for the benefit of the people of the State of New York, the Commission produces a Catalog of State and Federal Programs Aiding New York's Local Governments. The catalog profiles programs of intergovernmental aid generated from the federal government to the State government, from the federal government to local jurisdictions within the State (with or without State participation), and from the State to local jurisdictions. The catalog is a needed source of information on the current status of local aid. Compiled from information provided by both State and Federal agency sources, the catalog is the most comprehensive publication of local aid programs available. Still, the catalog should be viewed as a complement to other publications of aid programs.

Another publication that the Commission has found useful in preparing its catalog is the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). It is a compilation of Federal programs which provide assistance to the public. "The primary purpose of the catalog is to assist users in identifying programs which meet specific objectives of the potential applicant, and to obtain general information on Federal assistance programs. In addition, the intent of the catalog is to improve coordination and communication between the Federal government and its State and local governments."* The catalog contains programs available to, among others, State and local governments, profit and nonprofit organizations, specialized groups and individuals. The Commission's catalog used the CFDA as a model in compiling the information contained for each program. This information is elaborated on later in this chapter under "Catalog Terms."

The Commission's catalog is updated on a two-year cycle, and this revision reflects the status of programs as of December 1996. This edition of the catalog also includes technical assistance programs. Originally only those programs with some form of monetary aid were included in the catalog. Several agencies do not provide financial assistance, but nonetheless provide a very useful service to local governments by providing much needed technical assistance.

As with the latest edition of the catalog, this publication also provides the following indexing: (1) agency/program, (2) program, (3) key word, and (4) object code.

*Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, US General Services Administration, Washington, DC, 1994, pg. 6-94.

The Catalog of State and Federal Programs Aiding New York's Local Governments is a source of information on the current status of local aid. Compiled from information provided by both State and Federal agency sources, the catalog is the most comprehensive publication of local aid programs available. The catalog is updated on a two-year cycle, and this revision reflects the status of programs as of December 1996.

The individual program profiles, the main emphasis of this publication, consist of information about program administration, the award process and method of apportionment, and annual appropriations and disbursements. Within these program profiles, the following terms are used.

Objective - The main purpose or objective of the aid program.
Administering Agency - The New York State and/or the United States govern- ment agency which has primary responsibility for administering the program.

Object Code - All object codes used by reporting agencies to process payments of grants to local governments are listed for each program. These are the codes used by the State Comptroller's Office to process aid payment information in the State's central accounting system. Note that some programs use multiple object codes, and some object codes are used by more than one program. In such instances, a footnote indicates what is included in the object code and may partially explain the numbers. Still, it is advisable to contact the administering agency to obtain the proper
interpretation of the disbursement amounts presented in the program description.

Federal CFDA Number - The identification number assigned to Federal programs in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

Year Established - The first calendar year in which the program was in operation.

Legal Authority - The State and Federal laws specific to the program, and any reg- ulations governing program operation as reported by State agencies.

Program and/or Fiscal Contacts - Agency staff to be contacted for further infor- mation concerning program particulars, including application, rules and funding.

Eligibility - Lists governmental (State, counties, cities, towns, villages, school dis- tricts) or other recipients (non-profits, private contractors, individuals) which qualify for aid. Stipulations that pertain to applicants for the funding activity are also included.

Type of Program and Use Restrictions - Indicates whether the type of activity sup- ported by the program, at its inception, is a mandated local government activity, or whether participation is optional, with or without subsequent mandatory requirements. Further stipulates any limitations which may be imposed on the recipient as to how program funds may be spent.

Action Required to Receive Aid - Describes the action(s) required by the local gov- ernment or non-profit to receive aid.

Flow of Funds - Identifies money flow patterns used in the program: (1) Federal to State; (2) Federal to State to Local (Pass-through); (3) Federal to Local; (4) State to Local; and (5) Federal and State to Local.

Type of Aid - Indicates whether funding is for a project grant of limited duration or if it is for an on-going program.

Aid Formula - If money is allocated among recipients based on arithmetic calcula- tions, describes formula prescribed by law or administrative regulations and formula factors. Note that matching requirements are not treated as "formulas."

Matching Requirement - Where applicable, lists the percentage of program costs which must be provided by the recipient in order to receive aid and the percentage provided by the State and/or Federal governments. Any special requirements or qualifications to matching requirements are also given.

Maintenance of Effort - Indicates whether recipients must show evidence that pro- gram funds are being used to expand pre-existing local spending or to provide higher levels of service.

Amounts Appropriated and Disbursed - (1) Program appropriations are listed for State Fiscal Years 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95. (2) Program disbursements are listed for State Fiscal Years 1992-93 and 1993-94, as reported by the Administering Agencies or the Comptroller's BUD49R or HST20A reports. In those instances where agencies have not provided financial data, when possible, the Comptroller's reports are used. (3) Figures represent amounts paid to recipients, and do not include State costs for operation or administration. (4) Totals reflect "governmental" recipients and "all other" recipients. (5) Amounts appropriated and paid from the State's General Fund are shown separately from amounts appropriated and paid from Federal Funds and other State Special Revenue Funds.

Although careful attention has been paid to ensure accuracy, inconsistent terminology, differences in agency accounting systems, potential miscoding of vouchers, restrictions of the current central accounting system code structure, and the Commission's focus on local government entities all combine to limit the catalog's applications. These limitations are most apparent in the number of programs included and the financial data presented.

For purposes of this catalog, activities are defined as "programs" by each separate administering agency. Since there are no universally accepted rules for determining when an activity constitutes a separate program, identifying the number of aid programs is necessarily arbitrary. Often, for instance, one statute may authorize a number of distinct but very closely related programs, while other statutes combine programs which differ significantly in funding, operation, or administration. To gain some degree of consistency, the catalog relies on the identification of aid programs generated from a comprehensive, and uniformly administered survey of New York State agency officials. Previous efforts at categorization by the the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance) were consulted.

The catalog is primarily concerned with current, statutorily based programs of assistance that channel money and technical assistance to recipients in New York State. As a consequence, programs which are the result of an annual appropriation constituting legislative grants-in-aid are not included.

All of the grant disbursements, whether to a governmental or non-governmental recipient, are made by the State Comptroller's Office, pursuant to a voucher, and charged to a specific "object" of expenditure in the central accounting system. Recognizing the importance of developing program-related payment data for effective legislative oversight and analysis, the catalog is keyed to this grant object coding system. Although every effort has been made to properly associate the flow of funds between the various levels of government to the appropriate program, the user must exercise extreme caution when trying to manipulate the disbursement figures or compare them with appropriation or expenditure data from other sources.

Although the catalog attempts to reference all "grants to local government" which include monies paid to both governmental and nongovernmental recipients, some local aid amounts are not classified as grants and are paid as part of a State agency's operations. State reimbursement of local assessor training costs is an example. While the total amount represented by these exceptions is thought to be insignificant in relation to the total aid package, their omission may cause some confusion.

There are difficulties in utilizing the object code system. Some program funds are still commingled with other programs through the practice of using one accounting object code for two or more programs. In these cases, the direct, "one-to-one" match necessary to link each program to a discrete aid flow is not possible. Reporting differences resulting from inconsistent Federal, State and local fiscal years will also affect reliability and comparability of the data. The existence of some of these difficulties may be noted under the Payments or the Comments section, or may be footnoted where appropriate.

For programs where a one-to-one code match exists between the program and the aid flow, the amounts shown in each individual program summary are generally the figures from the State's central accounting system. Where the one-to-one match does not exist, the amounts shown are as reported by the agencies and may not be comparable. In some cases, agency reported amounts may be for different time periods. In other cases the figures may include both payments to governmental and non-governmental recipients combined.

For these reasons, before any use -- and especially if comparative analysis among programs is contemplated -- the user is cautioned to contact the agency personnel listed.