NEWS
Middleburgh, Richmondville Village Budgets Earn Top Marks from State
Both the Villages of Middleburgh and Richmondville earned high scores from a recent audit of fiscal stress conducted by the State Comptroller's Office. This new program, which has been conducted over the last three years studies various factors regarding fiscal health of local governments. Five of the six villages' scores were recently released by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office.
Of the communities, each was ranked on the amount of cash on hands, use of tax funds, levels of debt, and sustainability of debt. For each stressor on the budget, a percentage was increased on the rubric.
The Village of Cobleskill's report was not available, but of the five other villages, each scored the following. The lower the score, the healthier the budget was. The Comptroller's office considers any score above 44.9% as 'susceptible fiscal stress.'
Middleburgh: 15.8%
Richmondville: 15.8%
Esperance: 17.9%
Schoharie: 22.5%
Sharon Springs: 39.6%
Middleburgh, Schoharie, and Esperance were all slightly penalized for undergoing fiscal stress in 2012 due to Hurricane Irene causing a spike in expenditures and dramatic fall in assessments. The Village of Sharon Springs was penalized for having a much larger debt load than the other communities.
Of the Villages, the communities had different three year average debt loads the state considered:
Richmondville: 4.9%
Middleburgh: 7.8%
Esperance: 13.5%
Schoharie: 17.7%
Sharon Springs: 20.6%
The ratio of deficits to the overall budget was weighed, with the aim of having a low, positive percentage representing prudent use of funds over the last budget year. Esperance was penalized for two large budget deficits in three years:
Middleburgh: 3.0%
Sharon Springs: 4.3%
Richmondville: 4.4%
Schoharie: 29.9%
Esperance: -23.6%
Of the communities, each was ranked on the amount of cash on hands, use of tax funds, levels of debt, and sustainability of debt. For each stressor on the budget, a percentage was increased on the rubric.
The Village of Cobleskill's report was not available, but of the five other villages, each scored the following. The lower the score, the healthier the budget was. The Comptroller's office considers any score above 44.9% as 'susceptible fiscal stress.'
Middleburgh: 15.8%
Richmondville: 15.8%
Esperance: 17.9%
Schoharie: 22.5%
Sharon Springs: 39.6%
Middleburgh, Schoharie, and Esperance were all slightly penalized for undergoing fiscal stress in 2012 due to Hurricane Irene causing a spike in expenditures and dramatic fall in assessments. The Village of Sharon Springs was penalized for having a much larger debt load than the other communities.
Of the Villages, the communities had different three year average debt loads the state considered:
Richmondville: 4.9%
Middleburgh: 7.8%
Esperance: 13.5%
Schoharie: 17.7%
Sharon Springs: 20.6%
The ratio of deficits to the overall budget was weighed, with the aim of having a low, positive percentage representing prudent use of funds over the last budget year. Esperance was penalized for two large budget deficits in three years:
Middleburgh: 3.0%
Sharon Springs: 4.3%
Richmondville: 4.4%
Schoharie: 29.9%
Esperance: -23.6%