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Member Survey: What’s Affecting Your Town?

We want to hear from you.
New York's towns are navigating a wide range of challenges—from rising infrastructure and health care costs to workforce shortages, regulatory requirements and changes in how residents interact with local government.

This short survey asks about your town's experiences and priorities. Your feedback will help NYAOT better understand what issues are having the greatest impact on towns across New York and where additional state support or legislative changes may be needed.

Please understand we may use the responses to questions in this survey in our advocacy efforts at the state level and in our publications, website, and/or social media while maintaining your anonymity.

Estimated time: 5–7 minutes.
1.What is your role with your town?
2.Approximately how large is your town's population?
3.Overall, how would you describe the financial position of your town right now?
4.Which issues are currently creating the greatest challenges for your town?
Select up to five.
5.Over the past three years, would you say the overall financial pressure on your town has:
6.How did your town (or does your town) plan to use its ARPA funding?
7.How concerned are you about the ability of your town to maintain current services without increasing property taxes?
8.Under what circumstances or for what programs/services, would your town or has your town overridden the property tax cap?
9.If additional unrestricted state aid were available to your town, what would be your highest priority for using it?
10.How significant are your town's current road and bridge infrastructure needs?
11.How significant are your town's current water infrastructure needs?
12.How significant are your town's current sewer/wastewater infrastructure needs?
13.How significant are health insurance costs as a challenge for your town?
14.How significant is your town's long-term OPEB/retiree health obligation as a financial concern?
15.How significant is the need for affordable housing in your town?
16.What, if any, is the biggest impediment to your town increasing the amount of affordable housing?
17.Does your town currently have access to sufficient SEQRA expertise or training?
18.How effective are your town's current methods for providing required public notices to residents?
19.Which method do you believe is most effective for reaching residents with official town notices?
20.Would your town support allowing official public notices to be published on the town's .gov website in lieu of newspaper publication where permitted by law?
21.Does your town experience challenges related to property tax exemptions reducing the local tax base?
22.Has your town experienced situations where a PILOT agreement negotiated by an IDA affected your town's tax base or revenue?
23.Of the issues covered in this survey, which THREE should NYAOT prioritize in its advocacy efforts over the next year?

Select up to three.
24.What is one issue affecting your town that you wish state policymakers better understood?
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