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City of Ogdensburg on comptroller's new 'fiscally stressed' list

Posted 9/27/16

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg is susceptible to fiscal stress, according to a report from the state comptroller’s office. The city’s “fiscal score,” based on factors in the city report for fiscal …

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City of Ogdensburg on comptroller's new 'fiscally stressed' list

Posted

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg is susceptible to fiscal stress, according to a report from the state comptroller’s office.

The city’s “fiscal score,” based on factors in the city report for fiscal year 2015, was 46.7 percent, high enough to exceed the 45 percent threshold the comptroller set for the “susceptible to stress” category, but not so high it would be in the “moderate stress” category (55 percent) or the “significant stress” category (65 percent).

Using indicators that include year-end fund balance, cash position and patterns of operating deficits, the “stress monitoring system” creates a score that classifies districts in one of the three stress categories, or “no designation.”

The comptroller’s monitoring system is designed to be an early warning of money problems in a district, but in Ogdensburg, the fiscal stress has been discussed by the City Manager Sarah Purdy and former Comptroller Phillip Cosmo, who have both stated the situation publicly.

Major problems facing the city include a low fund balance, ever-increasing health care costs and weak property tax base. That’s because roughly 59 percent of property in Ogdensburg is currently tax exempt.

In an earlier report issued by the comptroller, which included St. Lawrence County villages, Potsdam and Richville were also labeled as susceptible to fiscal stress. That report was released in February.

A report this year list also included the St. Lawrence County school districts of Brasher Falls and Parishville-Hopkinton.