By Chris Caya

BUFFALO (2008-10-13) The Canadian dollar suffered its biggest one-day loss on record Friday. The Loonie has now lost more than a one-quarter of its value since hitting an all-time high last November. And the drop will likely have an impact on the Western New York economy.

Months before the global financial crisis hit, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz issued warnings about the County's over-reliance on sales tax, which accounts for nearly 4-hundred million dollars in revenue.

Poloncarz says the region has been receiving a boom from lots of shoppers from Ontario. And now that the Canadian dollar is weakening he says it will have an impact on the County's finances.

"I'm expecting if there's a recession in Canada and their dollar is weaker, we're not going to see as many Canadians coming across the border to shop at the area malls," Poloncarz said. "Which means Erie County will have lower tax revenues than originally expected."

But Poloncarz is not just concerned about fewer shoppers from north of the border.

"Any downturn in the economy is going to hurt Erie County, or any other county in New York State. Because if people are spending less money and you rely on sales tax to help balance your budget, you're going to see less money in the end for your budget."

As of today, Poloncarz believes the 2008 budget is still on target, but the 2009 budget is not going to be easy to balance.