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BROOME COUNTY, N.Y. -- State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli stopped by the Southern Tier Thursday, discussing his recent analysis of the fiscal state of local governments.

We caught up with DiNapoli at a fundraiser for Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo where he was a day after releasing a study that shows that nearly 300 municipalities in New York State had budget deficits in the last two years.

The City of Binghamton was included on a list of governments in danger of exceeding the constitutional tax limit that was also included in the report.

According to DiNapoli, the city has exhausted nearly 86 percent of its tax limit for 2012, the seventh highest percentage on that list, which was topped by New York City at 95 percent.

The comptroller says the tough fiscal times are not part of a cycle, but a new reality that calls for finding different ways to cut spending.

"I think there's so much that can be achieved by doing more joint bidding, joint purchasing, sharing back office operation, IT function, sharing personnel. Those kinds of creative solutions we're starting to see more of and I think in the face of the new reality, we're going to have to examine more of those opportunities carefully," DiNapoli said.

DiNapoli adds that exceeding tax limits can result in a loss of state aid for local governments which is why those in danger are given fair warning.