Labor & Employment Law

Local government 2019 Fiscal Stress Scores announced by New York State's Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli

Warning that the COVID-19 pandemic could push more local governments into serious fiscal stress, on September 24, 2020, New York State's Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reported that twenty-two local governments* that were designated in fiscal stress for 2019. The scores were based on financial information reported by local governments operating on a calendar year basis for pre-pandemic Jan. 1 ? Dec. 31 for 2019. ** 

In the words of the State Comptroller: ?We?ve been closely tracking the trends and common problems that communities in fiscal stress are facing. Now the economic damage caused by the pandemic has dramatically altered the fiscal landscape, and many communities are struggling to provide critical services and pay their bills. Without aid from Washington, the options are bleak for local governments trying to stay in the black, and many more local governments may be pushed into serious fiscal stress.?

Comptroller DiNapoli?s Monitoring System informs the public about local governments? financial health by evaluating and scoring municipalities on financial indicators such as year-end fund balance, cash-on-hand, short-term borrowing, fixed costs and patterns of operating deficits. The system also evaluates population trends, poverty and unemployment to establish separate ?environmental? scores for each municipality.

In total, Comptroller DiNapoli has designated 31 local governments in fiscal stress for 2019. This includes nine local governments with non-calendar fiscal years announced in March, including the cities of Long Beach [Nassau County] and Amsterdam [Montgomery County] which had the highest fiscal stress scores in the state.

The State Comptroller also released a report on common elements shared by the 31 local governments in fiscal stress. It also noted the fiscal stress risks associated with COVID-19 on local finances, including sharp declines in sales tax revenue, significant withholding of state aid payments to local governments, and existing stress factors such as low fund balance. The report highlighted the targeted training and guidance offered by the State Comptroller?s Office to help local officials dealing with financial challenges.

Also included were the following: 

Lists
Municipalities in Stress for Fiscal Year Ending 2019
Municipalities Who Did Not File or Designated Inconclusive 

Excel Spreadsheet
Detailed List of All Municipalities in State and Fiscal Stress Points 

Report
Fiscal Stress Monitoring System ? Municipalities: Fiscal Year 2019 Results and Fiscal Year 2020 Risks 

Toolkit
http://wwe1.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/fsms.cfm 

* In January, DiNapoli issued fiscal stress scores for school districts and found 33 school districts designated in some level of fiscal stress for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. 

** All New York State's counties and towns, 44 cities and 10 village.

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on September 25, 2020 (boomark / email).