Phillips Releases 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Honors Girl Scout Gold Award Recipient and More!

Among the most important functions of the Comptroller’s Office is the periodic analysis of the County’s financial condition and reporting our results to the County’s administration, legislature and taxpayers. To this end, my office recently released the County’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year that ended on December 31, 2023.

The ACFR provides a detailed view of the County’s financial position and the results of the County’s operations as measured by the financial activity of its various funds. Readers can find the highlights of the report in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section.

For a condensed and more reader-friendly version of the report, taxpayers can view the County’s Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR), which is published concurrent with the ACFR. The PAFR provides an abridged summary of the ACFR, including information about the County’s finances, operations, economy and how taxpayer dollars and other revenues are being used.

The reports demonstrate that Nassau County is in a strong financial position. At year-end 2023, the five major funds that comprise the County’s 2023 Budget reported a surplus of $19.6 million, while the three primary operating funds reported a deficit of $74 million. The deficit in the three primary funds was the result of the Administration’s use of more than $400 million from reserves created from surpluses over the past two years to pay down major liabilities.

To learn  more about the County’s end-of-year financial results, click here to access the ACFR and PAFR:  https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/4517/Financial-Reports.

Each summer Nassau County offers internship opportunities for high school, college and graduate students. The experiences in various departments and divisions give students an inside look at how Nassau County government serves our taxpayers. Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in the County’s Summer Intern Speaker Series, where I spoke with our interns about the role of the Comptroller’s Office and the County’s strong fiscal condition. I answered their questions and thanked them all for the meaningful contributions they are making to their respective departments. I know their hands-on real-world experience at the County will help to shape their future professions.

As Comptroller, I have been blessed to have the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of great women in our County. Most recently, I met an inspiring young woman, Faith Stallone of Nassau County Girl Scout Troop 3305 of Wantagh, who earned her Gold Award. The Gold Award is the highest possible achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA, earned by Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. Only 5.4% of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award. For her project, Faith worked to raise awareness of food insecurity and to educate her peers, her community, and members of her church about how they could help. The Gold Award requires a minimum of 80 hours of effort, but Faith put 97 hours into her project. She established a food drive as part of Battle of the Classes at Wantagh High School, called the Hunger Games. When her church, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Levittown, burned down in December 2020, Faith helped rebuild the food pantry and created a program where the youth of the church earn community service hours by running the pantry. I presented Faith with a citation congratulating her on this milestone accomplishment and thanked her for making an impact on her community while gaining valuable experience and learning lessons that will last her a lifetime.

On July 12^th, together with my colleagues in government from throughout Nassau County, I joined local historians, and Tweed Roosevelt, the great grandson of America’s 26^th President Theodore Roosevelt, for a rededication ceremony of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Offices in honor of the 125th Anniversary of Nassau County. In 1899, the three townships, the Town of Hempstead, the Town of North Hempstead, and the Town of Oyster Bay broke away from Queens to create Nassau County.

To commemorate the anniversary, a new plaque was installed on the Theodore Roosevelt statue located at 1550 Franklin Avenue, in Mineola, the County seat of government, in honor of Theodore Roosevelt, whose personal history is tied to Nassau County, and who was a resident of the Town of Oyster Bay. Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy continues to inspire generations, and this rededication represents our County’s commitment to preserving his memory.