DIVISION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT OF EXAMINATION 2018M-151 County of Westchester Financial Condition OCTOBER 2018 Contents Report Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Financial Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 What Is Sound Financial Condition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 County Officials Relied on Fund Balance and One-Time Revenues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Debt Has Increased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Cash Balances Significantly Declined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sewer Fund Experienced Operating Deficits and Fund Balance Decline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 What Do We Recommend? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Appendix A – Response From County Officials . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Appendix B – OSC Comments on the County’s Response . . . . . . 12 Appendix C – Audit Methodology and Standards . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Appendix D – Resources and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Report Highlights Westchester County Audit Objective Determine whether County officials effectively managed the County’s financial condition to ensure the sustainability of current and future operations. Key Findings The County has:  Experienced planned operating deficits totaling $81.1 million over the last five years. Financial condition continued to decline in 2017 when it experienced an operating deficit of $32.2 million in the general fund.  Cash balances that have declined by 54 percent during the audit period, from $180.2 million in 2013 to $83.7 million in 2017.  A debt service obligation of $159.8 million in 2017 (7.6 percent of the budget), an increase of $25.1 million (18.6 percent) since 2013. These obligations included $11.8 million in recurring operating expenditures over the past five years that were underbudgeted for in the 2015 and 2017 annual budgets.  The general fund owes the sewer funds approximately $50 million. Background Westchester County (County) is located in southern New York. It shares its southern boundary with New York City and is bordered on the west by the Hudson River and the east by the Long Island Sound and Connecticut. It is governed by a 17-member Board of Legislators (Board). The elected County Executive is the chief executive officer and is responsible for oversight of operations. The Commissioner of Finance is the Treasurer and is responsible for the day-to-day financials operations, including general and revenue accounting, debt management, investments and the development of financial policies. Quick Facts Population Key Recommendations   Square Miles Increase recurring revenues or decrease recurring expenditures so that operations are financed on a sustainable basis. 2017 Appropriations Take measures to help ensure adequate fund balance and cash flow to phase out reliance on short-term debt and advances from other funds.  Discontinue the practice of using one-time revenues to finance recurring expenditures.  Repay the advances made from the sewer funds to the general fund. 1 million 431 $2.2 billion Audit Period January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2017. We expanded our audit scope period through March 30, 2018 to review appropriated fund balance and short-term debt issued in 2018. County officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action. Appendix B includes our comments on issues raised in the County’s response letter. Office of the New York State Comptroller 1 Financial Condition What Is Sound Financial Condition? A county’s financial condition determines its ability to finance services on a continuing basis, maintain adequate service levels and survive economic fluctuations. A county’s fund balance (which represents assets remaining from prior years) is a key measure of financial condition. County officials should ensure that the level of fund balance maintained is sufficient to provide adequate cash flow to guard against unanticipated and anticipated expenditures and/or revenue shortfalls or surpluses. A county in sound financial health can consistently generate sufficient, recurring revenues to finance anticipated expenditures and maintain sufficient cash flow to pay bills and other obligations when due without relying on short-term borrowings, one-time revenues or interfund advances.1 The continual reliance on the appropriation of fund balance2 and subsequent decline in available fund balance indicates a deteriorating financial condition. Long-term planning on a multiyear basis allows county officials to identify developing revenue and expenditure trends, set long-term priorities and goals and consider the impact of current budget decisions including the reliance on short- and long-term financing on future years. Effective multiyear plans project operating and capital needs and financing sources over a three- to five-year period. These plans should be monitored and updated on an ongoing basis to provide a reliable framework for preparing budgets and to ensure that information used to guide decisions is current and accurate.3 County Officials Relied on Fund Balance and One-Time Revenues Over the audit period, County officials were aware that recurring revenues were not keeping pace with the expenditure growth, which resulted in operating deficits. The County appropriated $201 million of fund balance over the past five years and used $81.1 million to fund operations, with about half of that used in 2017. As a result, fund balance declined by 23 percent during the period. 1 In accordance with New York State General Municipal Law, Section 9-a, any advances must be repaid (along with applicable interest) by the close of the year in which the advances are made. 2 An appropriation of fund balance is the use of unexpended resources from prior years to finance appropriations contained in the current budget and is considered a one-time financing source. 3 Refer to our multiyear financial planning resources available at www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/planbudget/ index.htm 2 O f f i ce o f th e New York State Comptroller Figure 1: Major Fund Operating Results 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 5-Year Total General Fund $222,337 $40,046 ($4,922,129) $1,471,336 ($32,178,096) ($35,366,506) Sewer Fund $336,012 ($9,245,603) ($8,567,537) ($4,555,243) ($5,270,111) ($27,302,482) ($1,117,612) ($1,708,604) ($3,763,787) ($4,602,524) ($3,537,613) ($14,730,140) Refuse Fund Water Fund $382,044 ($281,221) ($1,354,340) ($1,919,353) ($540,524) ($3,713,394) Airport Fund ($1,838,992) ($1,993,166) $623,487 $2,421,770 $764,429 ($22,472) Total Funds ($2,016,211) ($13,188,548) ($17,984,306) ($7,184,014) ($40,761,915) ($81,134,994) In 2016, the County received additional one-time revenues of $20.4 million from the sale of two properties. One sale, in the amount of $5.4 million, was included in the budget indicating that County officials intended to use this revenue to fund recurring expenditures. Without this revenue the general fund’s operating surplus of nearly $1.5 million would have been an operating deficit of $18.9 million. Fund balance in four of the five funds has been declining every year with the largest decline of $32.2 million occurring in the general fund in 2017.4 FIGURE 2 Fund Balance Major Funds 200,000,000 150,000,000 100,000,000 50,000,000 0 General 2013 Sewer 2014 Water 2015 2016 Refuse Airport 2017 In 2018, the County appropriated fund balance of $44.7 million to balance the budget. The occurrence of an operating deficit in 2018 would further deteriorate County finances. Further, if the County does not generate additional sources of revenue or decrease expenditures, it will have to continue to rely on fund balance, which will eventually impact the ability to pay recurring expenditures and provide services to taxpayers. 4 We adjusted general fund balance for 2016 in Figure 2 to reflect the amount it would have been without the $20.4 million one-time revenue. Office of the New York State Comptroller 3 Debt Has Increased The County has increased its debt during the audit period.5 The indebtedness at year-end 2017 due to bonds and bond anticipation notes (BANs) increased $65.1 million or 5.6 percent from $1.16 billion to a total of $1.2 billion outstanding over the last five years. The County had a debt service obligation of $159.8 million (7.6 percent of the budget) in 2017, an increase of $25.1 million (18.6 percent) since 2013. Figure 3: Outstanding Debt at Year-End Year Debt Service Obligation Bonds 2013 $134,660,283 $1,108,757,835 $55,000,000 $1,163,757,835 2014 $147,690,117 $1,098,445,984 $88,727,800 $1,187,173,784 2015 $148,379,866 $1,103,557,005 $73,036,800 $1,176,593,805 2016 $164,805,640 $1,020,539,000 $125,262,800 $1,145,801,800 2017 $159,767,047 $1,122,593,675 $106,246,800 $1,228,840,475 BANS Total County officials told us that the increase in debt was due to funding various capital projects, some of which are legally required. The County’s debt service grew from about $135 million in 2013 to almost $160 million in 2017 and included $11.8 million in recurring operating expenditures for tax certioraris in 2015 and 2017. The tax certiorari expenditures were underbudgeted for in both year’s annual budgets. While this is not a significant portion of the overall bond issuances (less than 3 percent), these expenditures should be included in the budget each year. Further, the County elected to participate in the Retirement Contribution Stabilization Program (CSP). CSP started in 2011 and is an optional program that enables a municipality to pay a portion of its annual retirement contribution over time, leading to smoother, more predictable pension costs. If a municipality opts into the program, the amortized portion is paid over a ten-year period at an interest rate comparable to taxable fixed income investments of a similar duration. The County amortized the full amount allowed each year. This allowed the County to reduce expenditures by a total of $84.4 million from 2013 to 2015. However, this reduction was gradually diminished, and in 2017, retirement contribution costs paid were $8.8 million more than the 2017 retirement contribution bill. This is due to the amortization payments for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. This trend of deferring current liabilities to future years will continue for 10 years once the County stops electing to amortize a portion of its retirement costs. As a result, expenditures in future years will be higher. 5 The debt service fund is an account used to accumulate resources for and pay long-term debt principal and interest. A debt service obligation is the total amount due on the outstanding debt. 4 O f f i ce o f th e New York State Comptroller Cash Balances Significantly Declined The County’s cash reported in its major and non-major operating funds has declined by 54 percent during the audit period, from $180.2 million in 2013 to $83.7 million in 2017. As a result, the County has relied on advances from other funds to subsidize operations in the general fund. The sewer and refuse funds provided most of the funds advanced and are owed $88.3 million from the general fund as of December 31, 2017. These advances date back before 2013, despite requirements in New York State General Municipal Law (GML) that these funds be repaid (with applicable interest) by the close of the year in which the advances are made. The general fund currently does not have the cash to repay these advances. Additionally, as cash flow has become increasingly limited, officials have used short-term debt to fund cash deficits. The use of tax anticipation notes (TANs) annually smoothed the cash flow fluctuations experienced before the receipt of real property taxes in May each year. Officials issued TANs in each of the last five years. The amount borrowed has increased in four of the last five years from $90 million in 2013 to $140 million in 2017. This trend has continued in 2018 with the TANs issued for $150 million, $10 million more than the prior year. County officials told us that the decrease in cash is attributable to overall spending not being offset by increased revenue over each year in the audit period. However, while officials have a long term plan, it does not include plans to help phase out the County’s dependence on short- and long-term debt and the practice of deferring liabilities to future years. Until officials can reverse the decline in cash, they will need to continue to rely on short-term debt. This practice can obscure the need to budget appropriately and adjust cash flow practices to manage more effectively. The dependence on shortterm debt to meet current obligations is indicative of overall inadequate cash flow. Sewer Fund Experienced Operating Deficits and Fund Balance Decline Westchester County has 13 sewer districts that are combined in the sewer fund financial statements each year. These districts are composed of different tax bases, each based on the part of the county in which they provide services. The combined sewer districts experienced operating deficits in four of the last five years resulting in an overall operating deficit of $27.3 million. Ten of the 13 sewer districts had total operating deficits during the audit period. Office of the New York State Comptroller 5 Figure 4: Sewer District Operating Surplus (Deficit) Sewer District 2013 2014 Blind Brook ($1,110,328) ($1,320,131) Bronx Valley $1,436,241 Central Yonkers Hutchinson Valley $163,867 $450,811 2015 2016 2017 $591,194 $804,746 ($967,018) ($687,273) ($1,660,902) ($1,259,065) ($2,035,018) ($4,206,017) $67,501 $133,973 $47,123 ($19,835) ($47,465) $92,847 $76,217 ($159,678) 5-Year Total $277,663 ($324,513) $135,684 Mamaroneck Valley $1,610,417 ($2,912,445) ($3,095,306) ($1,923,255) ($1,884,533) ($8,205,122) New Rochelle ($394,873) ($1,188,560) ($509,433) $173,105 $219,808 ($1,699,953) North Yonkers $107,194 ($162,296) ($265,212) ($136,211) ($257,662) ($714,187) Saw Mill Valley ($188,749) ($1,347,281) ($2,043,290) ($1,253,783) ($2,081,907) ($6,915,010) South Yonkers $82,863 $68,483 ($158,640) $50,425 $29,450 $72,581 Upper Bronx Valley ($342,925) ($99,003) ($9,177) $121,393 $70,069 ($259,643) Ossining ($597,202) ($468,354) ($203,518) ($221,664) $550,208 ($940,530) Peekskill ($736,628) ($558,167) ($205,929) ($30,219) ($64,385) ($1,595,328) Port Chester ($144,675) ($797,397) ($606,970) ($487,651) ($248,908) ($2,285,601) Total Operating Results $336,013 ($9,245,604) ($8,567,536) ($4,555,244) ($5,270,110) ($27,302,481) Fund balance in 10 of the 13 districts decreased from 2013 to 2017 (Figure 5). The balances declined due to repetitive operating deficits and continued appropriation of fund balance. In addition to declining fund balances the sewer funds made advances to the general fund that were not repaid by year end as required by law. The decreasing fund balances and unpaid advances have put pressure on the financial condition of the sewer funds and contribute to the County’s overall poor financial condition. 6 O f f i ce o f th e New York State Comptroller FIGURE 5 Millions Sewer Districts Fund Balance Decline $18 $16 $14 $12 $10 $8 $6 $4 $2 $0 2013 Beginning Fund Balance 2017 Ending Fund Balance The sewer fund advanced the general fund approximately $50 million by the end of 2017 leaving the fund with only $5 million in cash on hand. If this trend continues, both the general fund and the sewer fund will reach a point where there is inadequate cash to pay for recurring expenditures. What Do We Recommend? The Board should: 1. Increase recurring revenues or decrease recurring expenditures so operations are financed on a sustainable basis. 2. Discontinue the practice of using one-time revenues to finance recurring expenditures. 3. Take measures to help ensure adequate fund balance and cash flow to phase out reliance on short-term debt and advances from other funds. 4. Develop a long-term financial plan that phases out dependence on shortand long-term debt and the practice of deferring liabilities to future years. 5. Repay the advances made from the sewer funds to the general fund. Office of the New York State Comptroller 7 George Lntimer County Executive September 20, 20] 8 Ms. Tenneh Blamah, Chief Examiner Of?ce of the State Comptroller Newburgh Regional Of?ce 33 Airport Center Drive, Suite 103 New Windsor, NY [2553 Dear Ms. Blamah: Westchester County response to the New York State Financial Condition Examination Report We would like to thank the New York State Of?ce of the State Comptroller for their dedicated time and recommendations to Westchester County, in their review of the County?s ?nancial condition. The County is in agreement with the ?ndings of the report with respect to their accuracy in each of the areas reviewed. We would however like to qualify each of the points in the report with additional information to better clarify some of the issues you have raised. County Of?cials Relied on Fund Balance and One-Time Revenues Westchester County?s budget over the prior eight years was balanced primarily by cutting expenditures, planned one-time revenues such as selling county owned property, and negotiating savings with various county contracts. The prior Administration made it a policy to freeze the property tax levy for seven consecutive years. This policy resulted in a ?ve year reduction of total Fund Balance in the amount of$81.1 million, leaving a balance of $265 million. See Table 1 below. Two contributing reasons for the reduction were due to: -$35.3 million decrease in the General Fund was partially attributed to an unrealized proposal to lease control of the Westchester County Airport, settlement of various labor contracts and use of E-9ll restricted funds. -$27.3 million decrease in the Sewer Funds. The decrease is mostly attributed to the planned use of fund balance and an increase in debt service due to consent orders. Summary of Fund Balance (Table 1) Change in Change in Change in Fund Fund Fund Fund Balance 12/31/2012 Balance 12/31/2013 Balance 12/31/2014 Balance General Fund 169,402,886 49% 222,337 169,625,223 49% 40,046 169,665,269 51% (4,922,129) Sewer Funds 80,881,886 23% 336,012 81,217. 898 24% (9,245,603) 71,972,295 22% (8,567,537) Refuse Funds 60,708,273 (1,117,612) 59,590,661 17% (1,708,604) 57,882,057 17% (3,763,787) Water Funds 11,894,152 3% 382,044 12,276,196 4% (281,221) 11,994,975 4% (1,354,340) Airport Funds 23,422,756 7% (1,838,992) 21,583,764 6% (1,993,166) 19,590,598 6% 623,487 346,309,953 100% (2,016,211) 34-4, 293,742 100% (13, 188,548) 331,105,194 100% (17,984, 306) Change in Change in Fund Fund Fund Balance 12/31/2015 Balance 12/31/2016 Balance 12/31/2017 5-Year Total General Fund 164,743,140 53% 1,471,336 166,214,476 54% (32,178,097) 134,036,379 51% (35,366,507) 44% Sewer Funds 63,404,758 20% (4,555,243) 58,849,515 19% (5,270,112) 53,579,403 20% (27,302,433) 34% Refuse Funds 54,118,270 17% (4,602,524) 49,515,746 16% (3,537,613) 45,978,133 (14,730,140) 18% Water Funds 10,640,635 3% (1,919,353) 8,721,282 3% (540,525) 3,180,757 3% I (3,713,395) 5% Airport Funds 20,214,085 6% 2,421,770 22,635,855 7% 764,805 23,400,650 9% (22,096} 0% 313,120,888 100% (7,184,014) 305,936,874 100% (40,761,542) 265,175,332 100% (81,134,621) 100% Office of the County Executive Michuelian Of?ce Building 148 Martino Avenue White Plains. New York 1060] Email Telephone (914)995-2900 Office of the New York State Comptroller westchestergovcom See Note 1 Page 12 See Note 1 Page 12 See Note 2 Page 12 See Note 3 Page 12 Office of the New York State Comptroller 9 See Note 2 Page 12 See Note 4 Page 12 See Note 5 Page 13 10 O f f i ce o f th e New York State Comptroller Expenditures General Fund Sewer Funds Refuse Funds Water Funds Airport Funds Expenditures General Fund Sewer Funds Refuse Funds Water Funds Airport Funds Expenditure Totals Compared to Fund Balance (Table 4) 2,028, 466Change in to Ex enditure at 3 3 12/31/2012 Total 12/31/2013 1,713,081, 211 10% 12, 344, 988 1,725, 426, 199 10% 100,495,682 80% 3,034,574 108,530,256 75% 67,246,712 90% 714,200 67,960,912 88% 16,749,383 71% 919,659 17,669,042 69% 41,554,037 56% (971,440) 40,582,597 53% 1,939,127,025 21,041,981 1,960,169,006 Change in 'g Expenditure '3 12/31/2015 3 Total 12/31/2016 E: 1, 776, 116,457 9% 8,497, 685 1,784, 614, 142 9% 121,535,522 52% (2,127,759) 119,407,763 49% 65,751,412 82% 178,921 65,930,333 75% 21,511,1' 49% (1,332,823) 20,178,366 43% 43, 551,555 46% (1, 159, 667) 42, 391, 888 53% 4,056,357 2,032,522,492 5 Change in t3 ?5 Expenditure a; Total 12/31/2014 26,933,519 1,752,359,713 10% 13,159,074 121,599,330 59% 745, 937) 65, 213,975 39% 1, 74 5, 245 19,415, 233 52% 1,481,500 42,054,197 47% 40,533,502 2,000,752,503 a- Change in ?a Expenditure Total 12/31/2017 ,2 3, 774, 395 1, 738,339, 037 7% 1,733,750 121,141,513 44% 845, 154 66, 775, 437 69% (237, 235} 19, 391, 130 41% 2,901, 122 45,293,010 52% 3, 957, 635 2,041, 490, 177 Change in Expenditure Total 23,756,739 (163,808) 537,437 2,095,901 1,487,358 27, 713, 627 5-Ye ar Total 75,307,826 20,645,831 (471,225) 3,141,747 3,738,973 102,363, 152 Fund 96 of 5 Yr Total 74% 20% 0% 3% 4% 100% In conclusion, these are our clari?cations to the preliminary report of examination of the County?s ?nancial condition. Our new Administration is developing the County 2019 Operating and Capital Budgets and will be submitting our Comprehensive Action Plan to you within 90 days of the release of ?nal report. Again, thank you for your due diligence and valuable insights in assessing the ?scal state of our County as of year-end 2017. Very My yours, George [Mimer County Executive cc: Ken Jenkins, Deputy County Executive Joan McDonald, Director of Operations Andrew Ferris, Chief of Staff Benjamin Boykin, Chairman, Westchester County Board of Legislators Catherine Parker, Majority Leader, Westchester County Board of Legislators John G. Tesla, Minority Leader, Westchester County Board of Legislators Ann Marie Berg, Commisioner of Finance Office of the New York State Comptroller Appendix B: OSC Comments on the County’s Response Note 1 We updated the Bond amount for 2016 in our report. Note 2 Due to the County’s method of paying for capital projects costs from the general fund before bonding, the general fund has had to use money belonging to the sewer and refuse funds to be able to pay for day-to-day operating expenditures. The County’s Table 3 does not show the amount the general fund owes to other funds. Following are the amount of interfund advances the general fund owed to various funds over the past five years. Figure 6: General Fund Due To Other Funds Summary 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Due to Sewer Fund $8,678,272 $42,723,814 $36,671,151 $56,730,389 $49,999,907 Due to Refuse Fund $46,158,007 $43,294,369 $42,893,786 $41,732,070 $38,314,127 $31,819,647 $45,755,461 $44,226,786 $224,426 $283,131 $733,814 $16,792,766 $14,703,394 $28,229,734 Due to Grants Fund Due to Water Fund Due to Non-Major Governmental Funds $20,024,899 $16,697,515 Due to Health Insurance Fund $20,890,441 $20,153,292 Due to Workers' Compensation Reserve Fund Due to Agency Fund Total General Fund Owes to Other Fundsa $160,644 $133,191 $133,191 $209,243 $209,243 $209,243 $95,884,810 $123,002,181 $128,611,019 $159,574,332 $161,713,611 a These amounts are from the County’s CAFR, Notes to the Financial Statements, Note 3. Note 3 When one fund overdraws its share of a pooled account that fund should report a liability (due to) to the fund that loaned the amount to the overdrawn fund. The fund deemed to have loaned the amount should report a receivable (due from) from the borrowing fund. GML (Section 9-a) requires that such interfund advances must be repaid by the close of the fiscal year in which the advances were made. Note 4 The general fund has relied on advances from other funds to subsidize general fund operations. While the overall sewer fund balance appears adequate, the fund balance is largely composed of amounts owed from the general fund. Further, sewer fund cash has declined significantly over the past five years, which may impact the fund’s ability to provide services to the taxpayers who pay for those services (Figure 7). 12 O f f i ce o f th e New York State Comptroller Figure 7: Sewer Fund’s Cash as a Percent of Fund Balance 2013 Cash Reported Due from General Fund Fund Balance Cash as Percent of Fund Balance 2014 2015 2016 2017 $75,000,400 $30,000,400 $28,000,400 $4,000,400 $5,000,400 $8,678,272 $42,723,814 $36,671,151 $56,730,389 $49,999,907 $81,297,898 $71,972,295 $63,404,758 $58,849,515 $53,579,403 92.3% 41.7% 44.2% 6.8% 9.3% Note 5 Our prior audit of the financial condition of the sewer fund in 2017 focused on budgeting within that fund. However, after a more comprehensive review of financial condition of the County we found that although the sewer fund appears to be in good financial condition, much of its fund balance is in loans to the general fund that have not been repaid by year-end as required. Because these loans that should be short-term advances are inappropriately being used for longer term financing we have removed the prior report from our website. Office of the New York State Comptroller 13 Appendix C: Audit Methodology and Standards We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and the State Comptroller’s authority as set forth in Article 3 of the New York State General Municipal Law. To achieve the audit objective and obtain valid audit evidence, our audit procedures included the following:  We interviewed County officials and reviewed the charter and code, resolutions, financial documents and census data to gain understanding of operations, officials’ responsibilities and oversight, and policies and procedures for budgetary and fiscal control. For the audit period for the following funds: general, refuse, sewer, water and airport:  We prepared budget to actual comparisons for appropriations and revenues to determine whether one-time revenue was included in the budgets for 2013 through 2017.  We calculated operating results and fund balance to determine the County’s financial condition.  We analyzed the amount of fund balance appropriated to determine if operating deficits were planned.  We reviewed the cash balances and recalculated cash balances to determine actual cash balances.  We reviewed the official bond statements, bond schedules and financial reports pertaining to issuances to determine the debt trend and purposes for 2013 through 2017.  We prepared a schedule of retirement contribution obligations and payments to determine the savings and/or costs of participation in the CSP. We conducted this performance audit in accordance with GAGAS (generally accepted government auditing standards). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objective. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objective. A written corrective action plan (CAP) that addresses the findings and recommendations in this report should be prepared and provided to our office within 90 days, pursuant to Section 35 of General Municipal Law. For more information on preparing and filing your CAP, please refer to our brochure, Responding to an OSC Audit Report, which you received with the draft audit report. We encourage the Board to make the CAP available for public review in the County Clerk’s office. 14 O f f i ce o f th e New York State Comptroller Appendix D: Resources and Services Regional Office Directory www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/regional_directory.pdf Cost-Saving Ideas – Resources, advice and assistance on cost-saving ideas www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/costsavings/index.htm Fiscal Stress Monitoring – Resources for local government officials experiencing fiscal problems www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/fiscalmonitoring/index.htm Local Government Management Guides – Series of publications that include technical information and suggested practices for local government management www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/listacctg.htm#lgmg Planning and Budgeting Guides – Resources for developing multiyear financial, capital, strategic and other plans www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/planbudget/index.htm Protecting Sensitive Data and Other Local Government Assets – A nontechnical cybersecurity guide for local government leaders www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/lgli/pdf/cybersecurityguide.pdf Required Reporting – Information and resources for reports and forms that are filed with the Office of the State Comptroller www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/finreporting/index.htm Research Reports/Publications – Reports on major policy issues facing local governments and State policy-makers www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/researchpubs/index.htm Training – Resources for local government officials on in-person and online training opportunities on a wide range of topics www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/academy/index.htm Office of the New York State Comptroller 15 Contact Office of the New York State Comptroller Division of Local Government and School Accountability 110 State Street, 12th Floor, Albany, New York 12236 Tel: (518) 474-4037 • Fax: (518) 486-6479 • Email: localgov@osc.ny.gov www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/index.htm Local Government and School Accountability Help Line: (866) 321-8503 NEWBURGH REGIONAL OFFICE – Tenneh Blamah, Chief Examiner 33 Airport Center Drive, Suite 103 • New Windsor, New York 12553-4725 Tel (845) 567-0858 • Fax (845) 567-0080 • Email: Muni-Newburgh@osc.ny.gov Serving: Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, Westchester counties Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/nyscomptroller Follow us on Twitter @nyscomptroller