Who better than Joe the Taxpayer to illustrate the struggle between state mandates for municipal governments and the funding given to make those mandates a reality?

Of no relation to Joe the Plumber, who famously became the face of middle class America during the 2008 presidential campaign, Joe the Taxpayer writes a blog for a new Web site put up by the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials.

The new site - www.stopthetaxshift.org - is an attempt to help the media and the public better understand the local impact of decisions made by state legislators in Albany. According to the conference, Public Enemy No. 1 is unfunded state mandates.

''This site is all about getting information out there,'' Mayor Sam Teresi said recently. ''A lot of our spending is not done by choice. We're given mandates by the state and are told how we must fulfill those mandates. But more often than not, the funding to do the state's bidding doesn't come along with those mandates and the local governments are left holding the bag.''

In addition to the blog written by Joe the Taxpayer, the site also contains links to recent news stories of interest, an explanation of how state government shifts taxes, costs and revenue shortfalls onto local governments and an explanation of the state's underfunded Aid to Municipalities program.

The site also includes a list of state mandates local governments must contend with. The mandates are divided into several different categories - public safety; employee relations; local taxation; fees, fines and local revenues; government operations and community development; procurement and environment and health. Users can click on the name of the mandate for more information about its requirements.

''Right now, the 'mandate of the week' is the Wicks Law,'' Teresi said. ''It dates back to the early 1900s and dictates that for every project costing more than $500,000, we have to separate the project into various contracts. It's cumbersome and costly.''

The Wicks Law that Teresi was making reference to was put into place in 1912 and was intended to promote competition and protect worker rights. In most of New York, construction contracts of less than $500,000 are subject to separate plumbing; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and electrical contracts.

Teresi said the information contained new Web site is of the utmost importance because of the economic downturn. His 2009 executive budget included a $487,106 increase in the tax levy.

''How much more can our taxpayers take? Not much,'' he said. ''We have to do something. Local governments cannot continue to take on a tax burden shifted onto our shoulders by the state. We either have to have fewer mandates or more funding to make these mandates a reality. Something's got to give.''