2006 New York Code - Legislative Findings.

 
    §  2431.  Legislative  findings.  It  is  hereby declared to be in the
  public interest and to be the policy of the state to foster and  promote
  by  all  reasonable  means the provision of adequate capital markets and
  facilities for borrowing money by its  several  municipalities  for  the
  financing  of  their  public  improvements  or purposes from proceeds of
  bonds or notes issued by  those  municipalities,  and  to  assist  those
  municipalities  in  fulfilling  their  needs  for improvements by use of
  creation of indebtedness and to the extent possible to reduce  costs  of
  indebtedness  to  taxpayers  and residents of the state and to encourage
  continued investor interest  in  the  purchase  of  bonds  or  notes  of
  municipalities  as  sound and preferred securities for investment. It is
  in the public interest and is the policy of the state to  encourage  its
  municipalities  to  continue  their  independent  undertakings of public
  improvements and purposes and the financing thereof and to  assist  them
  therein  by making funds available at reduced interest costs for orderly
  financing of public improvements and purposes,  particularly  for  those
  municipalities  not  otherwise  able to borrow for those purposes. It is
  further declared the state should exercise its power in the interest  of
  its   municipalities   to   further  and  implement  those  policies  by
  authorizing a state instrumentality to be created as  a  body  corporate
  and  politic  to have full powers to borrow money and to issue its bonds
  and notes to  make  funds  available  through  the  facilities  of  that
  instrumentality  at  reduced  rates  and  on  more  favorable  terms for
  borrowing by municipalities through the purchase by that instrumentality
  of the bonds or notes of municipalities and by granting broad powers  to
  the  instrumentality  to  accomplish  and  to  carry  out  the aforesaid
  policies of the state which are in the public interest of the state  and
  of  its  taxpayers  and  residents.  It is further declared to be in the
  public interest and is the policy of the state that such instrumentality
  should so conduct its operations,  including  the  full  utilization  of
  existing public corporations, as to provide the lowest rates in terms of
  borrowing  to  municipalities  as  is  consistent with a self-supporting
  operation with no expectation of subsidization with state funds.
    It is further declared to be in the public  interest  and  it  is  the
  policy  of  the  state  to  provide  a means by which certain cities may
  receive moneys to refund certain property  taxes  determined  to  be  in
  excess  of  state  constitutional tax limits or to reimburse such cities
  for the prior refunding of such taxes.
    It is further declared to be in the public  interest  and  it  is  the
  policy  of the state to provide a means by which certain special program
  municipalities may receive moneys for the purpose of paying the cost  of
  settling  litigation involving the city school districts of such special
  program municipalities and the teachers' unions thereof.
    It is hereby  further  declared  that  many  municipalities  are  owed
  millions  of dollars annually in unpaid property taxes. Such uncollected
  taxes adversely impact the municipalities' ability to timely collect the
  moneys necessary to meet their operating expenditures  and  provide  for
  the delivery of necessary local government services, amplifying the risk
  of  future  real  property  tax increases and negatively impacting those
  taxpayers who timely remit payment. It is hereby further  declared  that
  limited  means  exist  for  municipalities to expedite the collection of
  such delinquent taxes and that as  a  result  such  delinquencies  often
  remain unpaid thereby creating a lien against the affected real property
  and  that  the  sale  of  such  tax  liens will enable municipalities to
  expedite the receipt of  anticipated  revenues  and  provide  a  funding
  source  which  will  enable municipalities to more effectively carry out
  their public purposes. It is further  declared  that  the  state  should
  exercise  its  power in the interest of its municipalities to facilitate
  the sale and purchase of tax liens by authorizing such  instrumentality,
  a  trust  or  other  single  purpose  entity or entities created by such
  instrumentality, to have full powers to borrow money and  to  issue  its
  bonds, notes, certificates of participation or other obligations to make
  funds  available  to  municipalities  through  the  facilities  of  said
  instrumentality by the purchase  through  that  instrumentality  of  the
  delinquent  tax liens created and held by municipalities and by granting
  broad powers to such instrumentality to accomplish and to carry out  the
  aforesaid  policies of the state which are in the public interest of the
  state and of its taxpayers and residents.
    It is hereby further found and declared that, on  September  eleventh,
  two  thousand  one,  events  occurred  that  resulted  in  dramatic  and
  unforeseen negative fiscal changes which affected the state and  certain
  municipalities   thereof.   The   impact   of   these  events,  if  left
  unremediated, is contrary to the public interest of the state  and  such
  municipalities,  and  threatens  a decline in the general prosperity and
  economic welfare of the  inhabitants  of  such  municipalities  and  the
  people  of  the  state.  Accordingly,  it is a matter of substantial and
  imperative state concern that such municipalities not  fail  to  address
  local  needs  and  thereby  suffer  adverse  consequences. It is further
  declared to be in the public interest and it is the policy of the  state
  to provide a means for such municipalities to receive assistance to meet
  their  obligations  and  thereby be assisted in relieving the effects of
  the negative fiscal  changes  caused  by  the  September  eleventh,  two
  thousand one events.
    It  is  further  declared  to  be in the public interest and it is the
  policy of the state to provide a means by which the enlarged city school
  district of the city of Troy may receive moneys for the specific  object
  and  purpose  of  liquidating  the  projected accumulated deficit in its
  general fund at the close of its fiscal year ending June thirtieth,  two
  thousand  two, including any budget notes and revenue anticipation notes
  which may be a part of the deficit.
    It is further declared to be in the public  interest  and  it  is  the
  policy  of  the  state  to  provide a means by which the Shoreham-Wading
  River Central School District may receive moneys for the specific object
  and purpose of mitigating the adverse fiscal impact resulting  from  the
  loss  to  the district of a significant majority of the taxable property
  that it depended on for support of its educational programs.