Greece Town Supervisor Bill Reilich was recently informed by the New York State Comptroller that the Town of Greece has scored a “0” on the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System. This score lists the Town of Greece as “no designation”, which is the best designation a town can receive.
The Office of the State Comptroller uses the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System to examine the annual financial information reported by municipalities. The Comptroller’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System is in place to give an early warning of fiscal stress to local governments and school districts by examining their financial information and all aspects of their external environment. The town is required each year to submit extensive budgetary paperwork for analysis by the Comptroller. The determination is made by evaluating budgetary solvency, the ability of a locality to generate enough revenue to meet expenses and is the result of measuring year-end fund balances, operating deficits/surpluses, cash position, use of short-term debt for cash flow and fixed costs.
We have been and continue to work hard to keep our finances in check, paying for many projects in cash and refinancing old debt for lower rates wherever possible. We have also paid off several of our buildings and have healthy reserves which have assisted us in lowering the tax rate while continuing to offer more amenities to our residents. A great example of this is the addition of our new “Story Garden” Children’s Library expansion. This project was budgeted for and paid for in cash.
Our reserve funds helped us to navigate the sometimes uncertain financial times during Covid as well as any other emergencies that we have faced like the flooding, wind storms and other weather-related events as.
“Our score on the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System indicated absolutely no indication of fiscal stress and affirms our budgeting processes and the ability to manage our expenses” said Supervisor Reilich. “This scoring is proof that our careful budgeting – while still increasing amenities to residents – has helped us achieve fiscal stability”.