New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following school district audits have been issued.

Statewide, there were 33 school districts designated in fiscal stress under New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System for the school year ending in 2019, up from 26 reported in both 2018 and 2017.

"The state has to close a more than $6 billion budget gap and is contending with a significant jump in Medicaid spending. Notably, the state's fiscal problems arise at a time when our economy is relatively strong and tax collections are more than $1 billion above projections for the year.

“The Executive budget tackles some tough issues but we need to more closely examine the specifics and the broader impact of these proposals. The Medicaid Redesign Team is faced with the challenge of identifying $2.5 billion in realistic, long-term changes by April 1.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today released four audits of the state Department of Health’s (DOH) oversight of the Medicaid program. The audits identified approximately $790 million in savings from eliminating unnecessary payments and collecting rebates from drug makers.

Town of Andes – Conflict of Interest and Cash Receipts and Disbursements (Delaware County)

Despite spending about $36 million to reduce the subway homeless population, the homeless situation in the subways has grown significantly worse, in part because the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) has neglected to monitor a non-profit that has repeatedly failed to conduct outreach it was hired for, according to an audit released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Former Town of Perry Ambulance Service Business Manager Darcy J. Conaway pled guilty to petit larceny for stealing more than $5,000 from ambulance funds, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Wyoming County District Attorney Donald G. O’Geen. Conaway was sentenced to a one year conditional discharge after paying the restitution amount requested by the new board overseeing the ambulance operations.

Property tax levy growth for school districts will be capped at 1.81 percent for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, down from a 2 percent cap in each of the two previous years, according to data released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“As the levy growth rate dips below 2 percent, school district and municipal officials need to be fiscally cautious and examine where they can limit spending to stay under the cap,” DiNapoli said. “Local governments will have to examine their budgets more closely to control expenses.”

New York paid $26.6 billion more in taxes to the federal government in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2018 than it got back in federal spending, ranking it last among the states, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government audits have been issued.

Village of Cobleskill – Misappropriated Funds and Board Oversight (Schoharie County)
The board failed to implement proper internal controls and the former clerk-treasurer did not adequately perform her duties. As a result, the former clerk-treasurer received inappropriate payments totaling $8,828.