Rockland Better But Still Among Most Fiscally Stressed Counties

Rockland County remains among the state’s most fiscally stressed communities, according to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

With its Fiscal Stress Monitoring System, for the third consecutive year DiNapoli’s office has evaluated the financial stability of local governments and has identified 70 municipalities in fiscal stress at least once during this period.

Based on their 2014 financial statements, 15 entities have received the highest designation of “significant fiscal stress.” This includes the counties of Monroe, Broome, Nassau, St. Lawrence, Franklin and Rockland; the cities of Glen Cove and Albany; and the towns of East Fishkill, Jasper, Ramapo, Pierrepont, Coeymans, Cherry Valley and Parish.

In fact, Rockland is one of four counties that have been in significant stress for all three years. The others are Monroe, St. Lawrence, and Franklin counties.

Still, Rockland County officials found cause for optimism.

For the first time since the comptroller launched the statewide fiscal stress system, Rockland saw a 20-point improvement, removing the designation of New York State’s most fiscally-stressed local government.

In 2014, Rockland County scored a 65.8 percent on the Comptroller’s scale. That’s up significantly from the 2012 and 2013 scores of 86.7 percent.

The jump was due in large part to the rebuilding of the County’s fund balance and low debt service percentage, among many other factors.

“The huge reduction in our score is the result of our continued commitment to fiscal responsibility, accountability and economic improvement,” said County Executive Ed Day in a written statement. “During the past 21 months, my administration has worked hard to overcome significant operational challenges and re-establish financial stability. We continue to reduce costs through consolidation and efficiency and rebuild our fund balance, while continuing to provide the critical services local residents rely on. Our aggressive efforts have been recognized by Comptroller DiNapoli and the leading credit rating companies, as we have seen our bond rating upgraded by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.”

DiNapoli developed the monitoring system in 2013 to serve as an “early warning” of fiscal stress to local governments based on financial information and aspects of the external environment. A score of 65 to 100 percent indicates a significant degree of fiscal stress. A score of less than 65 percent indicates only moderate fiscal stress--and so Rockland County is less than one percentage point from being upgraded.

Rockland County Legislature Chairman Alden H. Wolfe praised the progress the county has made.

“I’m pleased that the Comptroller has recognized the significant progress the County has made in putting itself back on a strong fiscal footing,” Wolfe said. “This is the result of years of hard work and tough decisions, including obtaining deficit financing and embracing a conservative approach to budgeting.”

The Fiscal Stress Monitoring System looks at two main components: financial indicators, and environmental indicators:

Financial indicators evaluate budgetary solvency, the ability of a locality to generate adequate revenue to meet expenses by measuring year-end fund balances, operating deficits/surpluses, cash position and use of short-term debt for cash flow.

Environmental indicators capture trends that influence revenue-raising capability and demands for services. Those indicators include population, age, property values, employment, dependence on revenue from other government units, constitutional tax limits and sales tax revenue. The Comptroller’s Office notes that these environmental factors are largely outside of a local government’s control, but provide insight about the challenges confronting communities.

• For a copy of DiNapoli’s report Three Years of the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System, visit: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/pdf/threeyearsfsms_0915.pdf
• To view the complete, sortable list of fiscal scores for municipalities, visit: http://wwe1.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/fsms.cfm
• For more detailed information about the Comptroller’s fiscal stress monitoring system and to view reports related to local government fiscal stress visit: www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/index.htm

CHART from Three Years of the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System