We also issued individual reports for the following municipalities: Town of Brant, Town of Butternuts, Town of Catharine, Town of Clermont, Town of Coventry, Town of Davenport, Town of Fremont, Town of Greenville, Town of Knox, Town of Lewis, Town of Marathon, Town of Morehouse, Town of New Hudson, Town of Palermo, Town of Pamelia, Town of Sodus, Town of Steuben, Town of Union
Summary
NYS law requires each town’s chief fiscal officer (CFO) to file an Annual Financial Report (AFR) with OSC within 60 to 120 days after the close of the fiscal year and make reports available to the public. The AFR provides a comprehensive summary about the town’s financial condition and operating results, including revenues, expenditures, debt, fund balance, cash reserves and other key financial information essential for transparency, accountability and informed decision making.
For fiscal year 2025:
- 593 towns (64 percent) filed the AFR on time.
- 181 towns (19 percent) filed the AFR after the statutory deadline.
- 159 towns (17 percent) did not file the AFR
We selected 18 towns (Towns) across nine regions to review their fiscal year 2024 AFR filing status. We determined:
- Most of the Towns we selected did not file their 2024 AFR,
- CFOs had incomplete or inaccurate records and provided their Town Boards (Boards) with incomplete or no financial reports.
- Most of the Boards did not perform annual audits.
Background
NYS’s 933 towns vary significantly in size and financial complexity, ranging from fewer than 30 residents with a $269,200 annual budget to more than 793,400 residents with a $322 million annual budget. Regardless of size, towns are responsible for managing public resources and delivering essential services, such as street maintenance and improvement, snow removal, water and sewer services, refuse collection, ambulance services and fire protection.
Conclusion
Timely, reliable and publicly accessible financial reporting is essential to maintain transparency, strengthening accountability and supporting sound fiscal oversight. Consistent compliance with AFR filing requirements helps maintain public confidence, improves financial oversight and helps ensure local officials and stakeholders have the information necessary to identify and address financial challenges before they become more significant.