Island Park under 'significant fiscal stress,' state comptroller says

Island Park fell under "significant fiscal stress" in 2025, marking the second straight year with the poor fiscal rating, the state comptroller's office said.

The village's financial score has been affected by negative fund balances, operating deficits and low cash on hand, according to the comptroller's office. Island Park's cash position improved last year, but the village continued to run operating deficits. Gross expenditures totaled $7.4 million, exceeding the $5.5 million logged in gross revenue, according to data on the comptroller’s office website.

Mayor Michael McGinty did not return requests for comment.

The fiscal stress monitoring system was created as an early warning for municipalities so they can correct course before trends worsen. Island Park has repeatedly ranked among the most fiscally stressed villages in the state.

The state has reported fiscal stress in Island Park's finances every year since 2017, except for when the village did not file a report, records show. The comptroller’s office does not calculate fiscal stress scores for municipalities that don’t file reports on time, an issue raised by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

“The number of local governments with a fiscal stress designation remains low, but many cannot be evaluated because they do not file their required financial reports in time to be scored,” DiNapoli said in a news release. “A gap in filing is in itself a risk and creates a missed opportunity to identify fiscal stress and take corrective action before more drastic steps are needed.”

The comptroller's office also cited the Village of Huntington Bay as being susceptible to fiscal stress last year. The village’s stress score improved over the previous year.

Mayor Mark Dara said the village is in the second year of a four-year plan to bolster its finances and expects to end the 2025-26 fiscal year with a surplus. It would reverse a fund balance deficit he said he inherited when he was elected mayor in 2024.

“It looks like we're going to get out [of deficit] a lot quicker,” Dara said. The fiscal year, which ends on May 31, should result in a $180,000 surplus, Dara said.

Dara said the village has made its finances more transparent and does not miss filing deadlines. Like Island Park, Huntington Bay missed the filing deadline for the 2023 fiscal year report.

“The new budget is online now,” Dara said. “You could see it on our website and it's actually a true budget.”

The comptroller’s office last week also released an audit into the Village of Asharoken, which found that the village board did not always conduct thorough reviews of its spending during parts of 2023 and 2024. The audit noted that the spending was for valid purposes.

Asharoken Mayor Gregory Letica said in an interview that the village has since implemented changes. It has thoroughly audited disbursements before they are paid, and he said the village makes sure that all claims are properly documented.

Letica said the audit found "minor clerical errors," but not malfeasance. 

"I'm not upset that state auditors came to our village," Letica said. "I'm happy with it because they showed us things that we can do better. But again, you look at this audit, over $800,000, over 230 claims, vouchers were all appropriate and valid."