And while suburban towns continued to approve the building of new residential subdivisions, operating expenditures for local governments in Erie and Niagara Counties increased about 58% between 1996 and 2009 -- much more than the 37% rate of inflation during that period -- with no appreciable increase in services. In a study done by the Tax Foundation entitled "Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing by County, 2005 - 2009, Ranked by Taxes as Percentage of Home Value," Niagara and Erie Counties ranked second and sixth in the nation.