POUGHKEEPSIE – Mayor Marc Nelson, who served as City Administrator under former Mayor-turned-State Senator Rob Rolison, has spent years working to eradicate a multi-million dollar deficit created by Rolison’s predecessor in the mayor’s office. A new report by New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli indicates that Nelson’s money management has improved city finances.
DiNapoli’s office notified city officials that this year’s preliminary “Fiscal Stress Score” has improved from “Significant Fiscal Stress” to “Susceptible to Fiscal Stress.” The two-step improvement in the Comptroller’s rating moves the city to its best ranking since the Comptroller’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System was enhanced in 2017.
The Fiscal Stress Monitoring System scores a range of factors, including the city’s fund balance or deficit, cash position, and fixed costs. There are four levels of fiscal stress; Significant, Moderate, Susceptible, and No Designation.
Nelson credited the city’s finance team and noted that the city’s “Whole of Government” approach to improving its financial condition touches every city department.
“These types of report cards, the Comptroller’s annual review, the opinions of our bond rating agencies and our external auditors, are all strong indicators of sound fiscal management. I want to thank Commissioner of Finance Dr. Brian Martinez for leading an exceptional team of dedicated public servants in our Finance Department, and I want to thank our entire city staff who are working toward making our local government more efficient.”
Upon hearing the twice-improved rating from the state, Martinez said “We know that constant vigilance on spending and effective budgeting are the critical components required to provide successful city services and upkeep of our infrastructure. Only taking on debt when absolutely necessary was also a fundamental change that began with the Rob Rolison administration and continues today….
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