Government · Aug 24, 2026
How New York's property tax levy cap actually works
The state limits how fast the tax levy — not the tax rate, not your bill — can grow, and 60 percent of a board can vote around it.
Government · Current file
Government
Government reports decisions made by Rockland's town boards, village trustees, county legislature and planning bodies: budgets, tax levies, zoning changes, contracts and appointments. Reporters attend the sessions and read the packets, so coverage states what passed, on whose vote, and what it costs a household.
Town board meetings, county legislature sessions, planning and zoning decisions, budgets and tax levies, reported from the agenda packets and the room.
Government · Aug 20, 2026
How to request public records from Rockland's town and county governments
New York's Freedom of Information Law gives residents a right to town, village, and county records — here's how the request actually moves once it's filed.
Government · Mar 11, 2026
The Rockland County budget calendar: when the executive proposes, the legislature decides, and you can speak
The county budget moves on a fixed fall schedule — proposal, committee review, public hearing, and a year-end vote — and each step has a moment where residents matter.
Government · Mar 8, 2026
Town justice courts in Rockland: what gets heard in your town hall, and what does not
Traffic tickets, small claims, evictions, and misdemeanor arraignments all pass through town and village courts — here is how they differ from County Court in New City.
Government · Mar 4, 2026
Those extra lines on your Rockland tax bill: water, lighting, fire, and sewer districts explained
Special districts are mini-governments with their own budgets — and in Clarkstown, Ramapo, Haverstraw, and Orangetown they explain most of the small line items residents ask about.
Government · Feb 28, 2026
What planning boards in Rockland actually approve — and why it takes months
Site plans, subdivisions, special permits, and SEQRA: the review machinery behind nearly every new project in Clarkstown, Ramapo, Orangetown, and Haverstraw.
Government · Feb 24, 2026
How a village budget gets made in Rockland: from the treasurer's draft to the board's final vote
A plain-language walk through the steps every Rockland village — from Nyack to Spring Valley — follows before property tax bills go out.
Government · Feb 20, 2026
What the Rockland County executive can — and cannot — do
Rockland's county executive proposes the budget, runs county departments and can veto local laws — while the 17-member legislature writes them. How the split works.
Government · Feb 17, 2026
What Orangetown's highway department does and how the work gets funded
Plowing, paving, salt and storm drains — inside the Orangetown highway department's budget, who runs it, and where the money comes from.
Government · Feb 13, 2026
Ramapo's Zoning Board of Appeals: how to apply for a variance and what happens at the hearing
If a Ramapo property cannot meet the town's zoning rules, the Zoning Board of Appeals can grant a use or area variance — here is the application, notice and hearing process, step by step.