POUGHKEEPSIE – An audit of financial statements for 2018 shows the City of Poughkeepsie closing the general fund gap from some $13.2 million at the end of 2015 to roughly $7.1 million at the end of last year.
Auditors also found the city’s general fund cash position has improved by $1.8 million since the end of 2017. The audit was conducted by RBT CPAs, LLP.
“This is the third consecutive year the city has out-performed when it comes to the important function of managing to our revenue and expense projections,” said Mayor Robert Rolison. “The city’s Deficit Reduction Plan is a three-pronged approach toward rebuilding our fund balance by unwinding inter-fund receivables and payables, limiting non-essential borrowings, and crafting realistic budgets each year.”
Auditors found that the city’s receivables, funds it is owed by others, increased year-over-year, and recommended that the city complete a comprehensive inventory of all its assets to ensure they are not being understated on its balance sheet.
“When Moody’s Investors Service removed the city’s negative outlook in July 2017, they said that further bond rating increases could result from a declining deficit and improving liquidity,” City Administrator Marc Nelson said. “We’ve checked those boxes and many more. The city has established reserve accounts for snow removal emergencies, employee benefits and judgment and claims, it has reduced its self-insured retention from $1 million to $500,000, closed its transit fund which had operated at a deficit for years, and built a multi-year record of successful and timely collective bargaining outcomes.”
Finance Commissioner William Brady said that “In addition to the very favorable audit findings, the city’s debt-service costs drop by more than $1 million next year. It would not be overstating things to say that we are witnessing one of the most remarkable turnarounds in a local government’s financial condition. Being a part of this work is the high-water point in my long career in public service.”
