The former West Hurley Fire District chief and a current fire commissioner were both arrested today for abusing their authority and costing the district over $30,000 in funds since 2012, according to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright.

David Gutierrez, 52, and Michael "Bucky" VanValkenburgh, 44, both of West Hurley, were charged with Corrupting the Government and Official Misconduct and arraigned in Hurley Town Court. Gutierrez, who stepped down as chief is still serving as a captain.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman announced that Guy Parisi, a Westchester attorney, pled guilty today to a mail fraud charge arising from his attempt to embezzle funds from a decedent’s estate for which he served as a court-appointed administrator. Parisi entered the plea in White Plains federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith.

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

Akron Central School District – Financial Management (Erie County)

The district reported unrestricted fund balance that exceeded the statutory limit from 2014-15 through 2016-17 by an annual average of approximately $860,000. Unrestricted fund balance exceeded the statutory limit because the board and district officials consistently overestimated appropriations.

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

Local sales tax collections continued to climb in 2018, growing for the third year in a row, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Collections across the state of $17.5 billion grew by $872 million, or 5.3 percent.

Twenty-six school districts have been designated as fiscally stressed under New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System. Although the same number of districts were designated in fiscal stress last year, many of the entities in this year’s list have changed. Only 12 were designated as stressed in both 2018 and 2017.

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

Town of Freetown – Records and Reports (Cortland County)

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

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

For the second year in a row, property tax levy growth for school districts will be capped at 2 percent, according to data released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. This 2 percent cap affects the tax cap calculations for 676 school districts as well as 10 cities with fiscal years starting July 1, 2019 including the “Big Four” cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers.