Posted September 23, 2020 — Filed under Press Release
The City of Poughkeepsie announced today that it has received its annual fiscal stress grades from the Office of the State Comptroller. For the year ending December 31, 2019, the City received a rating of “significant fiscal stress” and a rating of “moderate environmental stress.”
The environmental stress rating reflects the City’s ability to manage financial stress given external factors at the time of measurement. The fiscal stress rating looks chiefly at core financial conditions, such as cash reserves and fund balance.
City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison said, “The improvement from significant to moderate environmental stress was as of a point in time before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and so these results were in-line with our expectations. Today, however, we were notified of a 20 percent cut to our AIM (State Aid to Municipalities) payment we typically receive in October, and that is extremely bad news. We remain uncertain about the status of our December AIM payment which is budgeted at $4,520,000. The State’s fiscal condition, which impacts local governments, shows the absolute necessity of Federal aid to State and local governments.”
City
leaders have announced an initiative to amend the City’s
Tax Code to permit partial payments on real estate taxes. Councilmembers
Natasha Cherry (D-6th Ward) and Yvonne Flowers (I-5th
Ward), both members of the City’s Finance Committee and sponsors of the
legislation, worked with Republican Mayor Rob Rolison and his Administration in
a bipartisan effort to bring relief to city taxpayers during the COVID-19
crisis.
Under
current law taxpayers must pay the full amount on or before February 15 unless
they elect, for a fee, to pay in four quarterly installments. Taxpayers who
fall behind on quarterly payments, or did not elect the quarterly option prior
to February 15, must pay the entire amount due including a penalty. The
bipartisan amendment to the local tax code would permit partial payments to be
made in any amount at any time throughout the year. The current penalty
schedule would be replaced with a simple-interest provision fixed at one
percent per month, assessed on the declining balance.
Under
the proposed changes to the local tax code, taxpayers who have elected the
quarterly option, and who face their next payment on May 15, could defer all or
some of that payment at a cost of 1 percent per month charged only on the
amount of the quarterly payment deferred. For taxpayers who did not elect the
quarterly option and make their first payment on-time by February 15, the
current tax code provides no option other than payment in full, and partial
payments are not accepted by the city’s tax collector. This amendment to the
tax code, if passed by the full Council, would permit all partial payments to
be accepted, whenever they are made throughout the year.
Councilmember
Cherry said: “This is a vitally important, common sense piece of legislation
that provides flexibility to city property owners. Flexibility allows
individuals to make decisions that best help them navigate this crisis, because
everyone’s situation is not the same. We ask our landlords to work with their
tenants during this difficult time, and this less rigid tax collection process
is going to help make it easier for them to do so.”
Councilmember
Flowers said: “Every property owner in the City who pays under the current quarterly
system has a payment due on May 15th. Left unchanged, everyone who
misses that payment would be required to pay the full tax and penalty, and our
tax collector would be required to return all partial payments. This
legislation will not only help hundreds of Poughkeepsie’s property owners, but
it will also help thousands of Poughkeepsie residents who live in rented
properties because owners may find it easier to defer rent payments until our
local economy is reopened.”
Mayor
Rolison said: “This is a well-crafted amendment that balances the city’s
financial condition with the need to provide flexibility to our taxpayers. Not
only will this legislation help individuals, it will help local businesses,
many of which also pay property taxes and have not received promised help under
the Federal Paycheck Protection Program. The current ‘all-or-nothing’ approach
to tax collection, which requires the City to send back partial payments, is at
odds with important goals we share as a community: preserving homeownership and
housing affordability. The new approach will also help our senior citizen
property owners, who may find it easier to pay monthly rather than quarterly.”
The
Council is expected take up the matter at its next virtual meeting on May 4.
City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison announced today that Brian Martinez has been selected to succeed William Brady as the City’s Commissioner of Finance. Brady is retiring at the end of January.
Brady served in Mayor Rolison’s
administration since 2016, the majority of that time as Finance Commissioner.
William Brady, at left, greets Brian Martinez in the Common Council Chambers at City Hall. Martinez has been selected to succeed Brady as the City’s Commissioner of Finance.
After Rob Rolison’s election as mayor, Brady
was asked to serve on the city’s Fiscal Advisory Committee that played an
integral role in getting the City’s finances in order and reducing the city’s
general fund deficit.
During Brady’s tenure, the City saw its general fund
deficit decline from $13.2 million to $7.1 million, as the City realized four
consecutive years of strong fiscal management and budgetary controls.
Mayor Rolison said, “William Brady served this city
with great distinction. He greatly aided the city’s ability to overcome a
period of serious financial turbulence, and we are grateful for his work.”
“It was a pleasure working with Bill on the
Finance Committee,” said Common
Council member Natasha Cherry. “He is the only person I know who can
smile while delivering a hard truth or a bottom line. I thank him for all that
he has taught me around Finance and Budgeting, and I wish him well in his
retirement.”
Martinez began his service at City Hall in 2019 as
the Budget Director. He and his spouse, Elaine Woods-Martinez, have deep roots
in New York and the Hudson Valley with now three generations of family on both
sides residing locally, upstate and downstate. Martinez pursued a career as a
Naval Officer, which was followed by his continued public service as a career
senior manager in the federal civil service for The Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Martinez’ determined to “come back home” to New
York and become residents of the City of Poughkeepsie. Martinez stated, “We are
thrilled to be part of the community that is the City of Poughkeepsie. After
attending a first ‘First Friday’ event a couple of years ago, we were
determined to make the City of Poughkeepsie our next home. I look forward to
being part of the City’s leadership team.”
Mayor Rolison said, “Having Brian Martinez take over
will ensure a seamless transition, and we look forward to Brian working on
behalf of the city to keep our finances stable.”
Martinez holds a PhD in Public Administration from
Old Dominion University with an emphasis in public management and
organizational change involving technology. He is a member of the Public
Administration Honor Society, Pi Alpha Alpha and the Honor Society of Phi Kappa
Phi. He holds a Master of Science in Finance and Management from Webster
University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). His prior
federal civil service positions include Deputy Director, Resources,
Requirements and Analysis, Training Directorate of the Joint Staff. During his
Naval service, he held various leadership and management roles in business cost
estimating and financial management in organizations within the United States
and abroad. He is a veteran of Gulf Wars I and II and the Global War on
Terrorism. His public management experience also includes serving as a
Neighborhood Conservation Chair in the City of Norfolk, Va. and non-profit
experience on the Board of Directors for Angel Airlines.
City
of Poughkeepsie officials today released audited financial statements for 2018
reflecting a sharp decline in the City’s General Fund deficit, from approximately
$13.2 million at the end of 2015 to approximately $7.1 million at the end of
2018. 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.
Mayor
Rob Rolison said, “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. 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.
City
Administrator Marc Nelson said, “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. 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: “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.”
RBT
CPAs, LLP has offices located at 11 Racquet Road, Newburgh, NY; 2678 South
Road, Poughkeepsie, NY; and 51 Sullivan Street, Wurtsboro, NY. RBT provides accounting, auditing, tax and business
consulting services to clients in the greater Hudson Valley, as well as in
other areas of New York State, Connecticut and New Jersey.
