Monticello, NY – For the fourth year in a row, the NYS Comptroller’s Office has designated Sullivan County free of fiscal stress.
The Office recently released its 2018 Fiscal Stress rankings for municipalities and school districts statewide, based on the annual financial reports submitted to the Office. Sullivan County again scored well, earning the best rank of “No Designation” (meaning there are no indications of the County being susceptible to fiscal stress at this time).
Entities receive a fiscal score and an environmental score. Based on the fiscal score, the system assigns an entity to one of three categories of stress or to the “No Designation” category if its score doesn’t meet the threshold of stress. The three categories of stress are “Significant Fiscal Stress,” “Moderate Fiscal Stress” and “Susceptible to Fiscal Stress.”
“This is the second year in a row that we’ve been given the best fiscal score we have ever attained,” Sullivan County Manager Josh Potosek said, referring to the 12.9 points assigned to the County by the Comptroller’s Office. “And this latest report shows we continue to maintain County government’s fiscal stability.”
In 2014, Sullivan was listed as being “Susceptible to Fiscal Stress” due to a combination of short-term debt and expenses, with a score over 45 points. That dropped to 36.7 in 2015, then 22.5 in 2016. In 2017, the County first hit the 12.9 point mark.
“This Fiscal Stress ranking shows our residents and taxpayers that we have a great group of hardworking professionals running this County together as efficiently as possible,” remarked County Treasurer Nancy Buck, who works closely with Potosek and Management & Budget Commissioner Janet Young to monitor revenues and expenditures.
While the 2018 report again lists Sullivan as “Susceptible to Environmental Stress” with a score of 33.3 points, that’s notably down from the 2017 assignment of 36.7 points and is only a few points above “No Designation.” The data used to create that score – population changes, poverty levels, tax base, unemployment rates, state/federal aid and other items – represents issues that are not fully within County control.
“I continue to give much credit and praise to Josh and our County personnel, especially the Division of Management & Budget,” said District 1 Legislator and Management & Budget Committee Chair Scott Samuelson. “They keep every taxpayer in mind by safeguarding and constantly monitoring the use of public funds.”
“Once again, the NYS Comptroller’s Office’s report demonstrates the Legislature’s, County Manager’s and County Treasurer’s commitment to properly accounting for and using tax dollars, whether those dollars come from the state, the federal government or our local residents and property owners,” added Legislature Chair Luis Alvarez. “We are ‘minding the store’.”
To access the Comptroller’s reports for the County and other municipalities and school districts, visit www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/index.htm.