Compliance & Transparency
New York local government financial reporting compliance.
New York local governments face two key transparency obligations: filing Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) with the NYS Comptroller, and participating in the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System (FSMS). Missing either creates a blind spot — AFR non-filing hides basic financial data, while FSMS absence means no early-warning stress assessment. Approximately 20% of New York local governments fail to file on time in any given year.
Compliance Overview
| Entity Type | Count | AFR Filed (FY 2024) | FSMS Scored (FY 2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cities | 63 | 86% | 48 of 63 (76%) |
| Counties | 62 | 100% | 57 of 62 (92%) |
| Towns | 933 | 100% | 813 of 933 (87%) |
| Villages* | 538 | 100% | 422 of 538 (78%) |
| School Districts | 689 | 100% | 672 of 689 (98%) |
AFR Non-Compliance
Cities are the only entity type with genuine AFR non-filers. Counties, towns, villages, and school districts all have 100% filing compliance.
Mount Vernon case study
The most notable case is Mount Vernon, which lost its credit rating after years of non-filing. The OSC conducted special audits (2020M-96) documenting the city's failure to produce timely financial reports.
Chronic / Ceased Non-Filers
Cities that have not filed for 3 or more years as of FY 2024.
| City | Last Filed | Years Behind | 10-Year Filing Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ithaca | 2021 | 3 | 70.0% |
| Mount Vernon | 2020 | 4 | 60.0% |
| New York | Never | N/A | 0.0% |
Recent Lapses
Cities that usually file but missed 1-2 recent years.
| City | Last Filed | Years Behind | 10-Year Filing Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton | 2022 | 2 | 80.0% |
| Mechanicville | 2023 | 1 | 90.0% |
| North Tonawanda | 2023 | 1 | 90.0% |
| Rensselaer | 2022 | 2 | 80.0% |
| Salamanca | 2023 | 1 | 90.0% |
| Tonawanda | 2023 | 1 | 90.0% |
The remaining 54 of 63 cities filed for FY 2024.
FSMS Participation
The OSC's Fiscal Stress Monitoring System scores local governments on fiscal and environmental stress indicators. Not all entities that file AFRs are scored — some have never been evaluated, while others were scored in prior years but are missing from the most recent cycle (FY 2024).
232 entities have lapsed from FSMS scoring, and 699 have never been scored.
Cities — 48 of 63 scored (14 lapsed, 1 never scored)
| Entity | Last FSMS Year |
|---|---|
| Cortland | 2022 |
| Dunkirk | 2018 |
| Fulton | 2021 |
| Ithaca | 2017 |
| Jamestown | 2021 |
| Johnstown | 2017 |
| Mechanicville | 2021 |
| Mount Vernon | 2015 |
| New Rochelle | 2020 |
| North Tonawanda | 2022 |
| Port Jervis | 2020 |
| Rensselaer | 2014 |
| Salamanca | 2015 |
| Tonawanda | 2022 |
1 never scored
| Entity |
|---|
| New York |
Counties — 57 of 62 scored (5 never scored)
5 never scored
Towns — 813 of 933 scored (112 lapsed, 8 never scored)
Villages — 422 of 538 scored (105 lapsed, 11 never scored)
School Districts — 672 of 689 scored (1 lapsed, 16 never scored)
| Entity | Last FSMS Year |
|---|---|
| Inlet Common School District | 2019 |
16 never scored
Big Five dependent districts (4): Buffalo City School District, Rochester City School District, Syracuse City School District, Yonkers City School District — fiscally dependent on parent city; finances included in city's FSMS score.
Special-act Union Free districts (10): George Junior Republic Union Free School District, Greenburgh Eleven Union Free School District, Greenburgh-Graham Union Free School District, Greenburgh-North Castle Union Free School District, Hawthorne-Cedar Knolls Union Free School District, Little Flower Union Free School District, Mount Pleasant-Blythedale Union Free School District, Mount Pleasant-Cottage Union Free School District, Randolph Academy Union Free School District, Raquette Lake Union Free School District — serve residential treatment facilities, not traditional community districts.
| Entity | Type |
|---|---|
| Piseco Common School District | Common |
| South Mountain-Hickory Common School District | Common |
View the full stress analysis for interactive scatter charts and year-by-year comparisons.
Read our full methodology for details on data sources and how metrics are calculated.