Only a handful of local governments reviewed by New York state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office are deemed to be facing a form of fiscal stress.
DiNapoli's office this week released its latest round of fiscal stress scores for local governments after years of federal pandemic aid boosting bottom lines for many municipal budgets.
“Federal pandemic relief packages provided significant aid to local governments over the past three years, helping to balance their books during unprecedented circumstances,” DiNapoli said. “Now that funding is winding down and local officials will have to closely monitor their financial conditions. I encourage local governments to use our self-assessment tool to help them budget and avoid potential pitfalls in the coming years.”
The village of Coxsackie in Greene County was found to be in moderate fiscal stress. Four villages -- Chateaugay, Canajoharie, Huntington Bay and Mohawk -- were found to be susceptible to fiscal stress.
The review conducted for local governments who have fiscal years between Feb. 28 and July 31 also included the big four cities outside of New York City: Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers.
But there were 95 local governments that did not submit data to receive a score -- a 30% increase from a year ago.
“It is important that local officials file timely financial reports disclosing to the public the information they are using to make financial decisions, but we are seeing an increasing number that do not,” DiNapoli said. “When a local government fails to keep this legally required financial information current and accessible, it undermines confidence and accountability in a local government’s finances and forgoes an opportunity to learn of future risks from our early warning system.”