Ellenville, Catskill, Po’k under fiscal stress
The city of Poughkeepsie is under significant fiscal stress, the village of Ellenville is under moderate fiscal stress, and the village of Catskill is susceptible to fiscal stress, the state Comptroller’s Office said Tuesday.
The three communities were the only ones in Ulster, Greene, Dutchess and Columbia counties to be included in Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s report.
The latest round of scores is based on 2017 financial information provided to DiNapoli’s office by local governments as of Sept. 5, 2018, and includes only municipalities with fiscal years ending Dec. 31, 2017. In New York state, all counties and towns, 44 cities and 10 villages — a total of 1,043 communities — have a calendarbased fiscal year, DiNapoli’s office said.
Poughkeepsie had a 2017 fiscal stress score of 75 percent; Ellenville had a stress score of 58.3 percent; and Catskill’s score was 49.2 percent.
A municipality is considered to be under significant fiscal stress if its score is 65 percent or higher; under moderate fiscal stress if its score is between 55 and 64.9 percent; and susceptible to fiscal stress if its score is between 45 to 54.9 percent.
A total of 25 municipalities across the state were included at one of the three stress levels in DiNapoli’s report. And while that total is lower for the third consecutive year, the number of municipalities that are under significant fiscal stress more than doubled since the previous year.
“Fewer local governments are considered fiscally stressed, but those with persistent financial problems are struggling to stay out of the red and fix their problems,” DiNapoli said in a prepared statement. “While the results may be encouraging in some areas, there are municipalities that should focus on near-term financial risks and implement more prudent long-term planning.”
A searchable list of the fiscal stress scores of all municipalities in New York state can be found online at bit.ly/1sNma81.