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Introduction
The first Long Island index in 2004 identified the cost of local government on the Island, and the corresponding high local property taxes, as a major issue affecting the quality of life for all Long Islanders. Subsequent Index reports have reported on the highly fragmented nature of local government on Long Island, taxpayers concerns about the high level of school taxes as reflected in budget defeats and the costs of the various types of governments (county, city, town, village, school districts and special districts). The 2007 Index focused on reasons why Long Island government costs are so high relative to a comparable metropolitan region in northern Virginia with a starkly different local governance model-Long Island having 239 local government units versus 17 in Northern Virginia.
To summarize the results presented in the first four Index reports, it is clear that Long Island has a large number of local governmental entities that local government expenditures are large and growing, and that local taxpayers are paying for 79% of the total cost of local government. In order to measure changes in the cost of local government, the Index has developed a database that provides a nine-year history of local government expenditures and revenues for Long Island, and comparable figures for local governments and school districts in the rest of New York State (excluding New York City). By tracking changes going forward from this baseline information, Long Islanders will be able to determine whether or not efforts to reduce costs of local government.