Although it is commonly referred to as a property tax "bill",
most New Yorkers receive multiple property tax bills. In fact,
as is shown below, some citizens can receive up to four tax
bills. Therefore, if you add together you get your total
property tax bill. For example, see a sample bill from a family
in Western New York from 2008: What Should You Look for in Your
Local Budgets? You should first look for the budget message,
which is written by the budget officer. The budget message
outlines the budget presentation and provides the reader with
the general themes within the budget. Whether presented by
program area or theme, the budget message will summarize
increase (and reductions) to spending and programs. You should
also look for the revenue and spending sections of the budget.
Although local governments may have different budgetary formats,
all local government budgets have sections about (i) revenues
that the local government expects to take in during the fiscal
year covered by the budget, and (ii) spe