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NEWS from the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Contact: Press Office 518-474-4015

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli Statement on Reimbursement for Multi-Year Financial Planning for Stressed Local Governments

December 18, 2014

Legislative bill S.7352/A.09823 was signed into law on Dec. 17. The measure, proposed by the Office of State Comptroller, allows municipalities identified as experiencing fiscal stress to be reimbursed by the state Financial Restructuring Board for Local Governments for hiring external financial advisers to help with multi-year financial planning.

“More than ever, local government budgeting requires officials to take a long-term view of the impact that spending decisions have on their finances.

“Through our audits and fiscal profiles of communities across New York, my office has continually emphasized the importance of identifying revenue and expenditure trends, establishing long-term priorities and goals, and considering the impact of short-term/current budgeting decisions on future fiscal years.

“By providing financial support from the state, our most vulnerable municipalities are more likely to engage financial experts when necessary to help them incorporate this type of multi-year financial planning into their budgeting process.

“I want to thank the Governor Andrew Cuomo for recognizing the importance of this legislation and signing the bill into law. I also want to thank bill sponsors Senator Jack Martins and Assemblymembers Kenneth Zebrowski and Anthony Brindisi for acknowledging that the state should offer as much assistance as possible to help local officials make decisions that will keep their governments solvent and healthy.”