NEW! NYS Comptroller's Local Government & School Accountability Newsletter

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A Message from the Comptroller

The Division of Local Government and School Accountability (LGSA) at the Office of the State Comptroller is committed to helping municipal and school officials stay informed about fiscal matters. To that end, it is my pleasure to provide you with our inaugural LGSA newsletter. LGSA News will be packed with information you can use to help your community, including emerging local government issues, takeaways from recent audits, opportunities for training, reminders about upcoming important filing deadlines, and highlights from recently released reports.

It is fitting that this is the inaugural issue as we began 2024 with our newly appointed Deputy for Local Government and School Accountability, Robin Lois. Please join me in welcoming Robin to the LGSA management team. The entire LGSA management team including Assistant Comptrollers, Randy Partridge and Simonia Brown, are ready to assist you, so please do not hesitate to reach out to them at 518-474-4037.

I hope you will enjoy the articles below and share LGSA News with others you think might want to subscribe!

10 Years of Monitoring Fiscal Stress

The Office of the State Comptroller recently celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System (FSMS), which evaluates local governments’ finances on a range of indicators. The system’s fiscal stress scores provide an early warning to local officials about potential fiscal issues and give the public insight into their communities’ financial health. Access the most recent local government FSMS report with the link below.

Check Washing Fraud
Is Your Local Government Safe?

The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently alerted the public to an uptick in “check washing” fraud. The process of check washing generally involves intercepting a check and then removing the payee and/or dollar amount from a check through a chemical or digital process. The now blank signed check can be sold, deposited, or cashed to a new payee.

Local governments are just as susceptible to this type of fraud as any other entity or person that uses checks as a form of payment. We encourage you to review and discuss with your financial institution all options for making and receiving payments. Our Local Government Management Guide on Cash Management Technology can be found at the link below and goes over many of the options. Additionally, below are a few tips to help reduce the risk of check fraud.

1. Consider using a “positive pay” system as a check fraud prevention tool. 
2. When possible, use a blue or black non-erasable gel pen (indelible ink).
3. Don’t allow incoming or outgoing mail to sit in the mailbox.
4. Monitor bank transactions and report discrepancies quickly.

If you have additional questions or believe you are a victim of check fraud, contact your financial institution and our Division of Investigations immediately.

Investing Wisely:
Protecting Public Funds

The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) recently issued a series of Investment Program audits that found each local government and school district audited either did not have or were not managing a comprehensive investment program.

A comprehensive investment program should serve four basic objectives – legality, safety, liquidity, and yield. A sound program for protecting public funds requires prudent strategies, including procedures to ensure the safety of investments and deposits while maximizing earnings on any money that is not required for operations.

OSC encourages all local government and school district officials to develop or review your investment program’s policies and procedures to confirm they meet your needs.

Learn more about the benefits of establishing a comprehensive investment program from our Local Government Management Guide on Investing and Protecting Public Funds and recently released audits (links below).

Important Reminders

The Electronic Filing System (EFS) used to file Annual Update Documents (AUD) has been decommissioned. All delinquent reports must now be filed in the new Annual Financial Report (AFR) application.

• Don’t forget to enroll in our Online Services portal. When enrolling, please remember:
  - accounts are created for each new user. Previous user accounts are non-transferable;
  - authorizer permissions are reserved for the CFO user account under the enrollment tab;
  - do not edit the CFO name on the existing account;
  - passwords cannot contain words used in the username.
•  Not getting our emails?
  - Ask your clerk to visit our Contact Update page at the link below to update your contacts.
  - Add our email addresses to your trusted senders list: localgov@osc.ny.gov, AFRfile@osc.ny.gov, LocalTraining@osc.ny.gov, LGSAMonitoring@osc.ny.gov.
• Need help with something? Contact the Local Government Help Desk at:         1-866-321-8503 or 518-408-4934 or localgov@osc.ny.gov.

Annual Financial Report Tips & Trick

• If your Annual Financial Report (AFR) gets returned to you because we are requesting changes, you have 30 days to re-certify your report or it will revert back to the previously certified data. Any work in progress will be lost.
• Statement of indebtedness changes:
  - The prior year adjustment field should be utilized to record debt issued prior to 2023;
  - all debt should be entered by issuance, not by purpose. In the past you may have had many lines of debt on the statement of indebtedness if you showed them issued by purpose. You will need to combine them all into one line and by issuance date;
• for help understanding the validation rules, please click the link to our Validation Rules Manual below.

Check out our upcoming training events, REGISTER at the link below:

February:

• Improving the Effectiveness of the Claims Audit Process (February 7)
• The Association of Towns Annual Meeting in NYC (February 18-21)
• Capital Region Association of Fire Districts Conference (February 29 - March 1)

March:

• Reporting Elected and Appointed Government Officials (March 6)
• Introduction to Governmental Accounting School (March 13-14)

Will Your Local Government Be Receiving Adult-Use Cannabis Tax Revenue?

Retail dispensaries for recreational adult-use cannabis are now operating throughout the State. OSC has an Adult-Use Cannabis (AUC) information page online for local governments, covering issues such as the tax revenue distribution process; OSC guidance on how to account for tax received by counties, cities, towns and villages; and links to sections of the State Office of Cannabis Management’s website pertaining to local governments. As the AUC marketplace is ever-changing, OSC’s website will be updated with the latest information to assist local governments.

Are You Delinquent?

The following list of local governments are at least 3 years delinquent in filing the required Property Tax form, Constitutional Tax Limit form, or the Annual Financial Report (AFR). These reports provide residents, local officials, OSC, and other interested parties with a transparent tool to monitor and evaluate local government operations and financial conditions. Failure to file these reports timely impairs the ability of officials to manage government operations and make informed decisions. Click the link below to find out how to file your reports.

Contact LGSA

Website: www.osc.ny.gov/local-government
Tel: 518-747-4037

Audits, Local Government Services and Professional Standards
Tel: 518-474-5404

Help Line
Tel: 866-321-8503 or 518-408-4934
Email: localgov@osc.ny.gov