Northport Village one of 11 not under financial stress

Northport was among 11 villages on Long Island that scored zero in the state comptroller’s evaluation of village financial statements statewide, an indication that they were in good financial shape.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office used a “fiscal stress monitoring system” to evaluate 535 villages that had fiscal years ending on May 31, 2013 — all but a handful of the state’s villages.

Statewide, 44 villages, including the ones on Long Island, scored a zero. This means that their budget figures didn’t trigger any of the indicators in the monitoring system, such as fund balance, operating deficit and short-term debt, officials said.

“It is very rewarding to all of us who have worked hard on the board and especially should be rewarding for the mayor who has put in enormous amount of time throughout the year,” said Northport Deputy Mayor Henry Tobin at a news conference on Tuesday.

The other villages that received the same score are Asharoken, Bellerose, Centre Island, Hewlett Harbor, Oyster Bay Cove, Port Washington, Quoque, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock and South Floral Park. Amityville, Manorhaven and Bayville were among the four villages in the state to receive the “significant fiscal stress” warning label. Old Brookville and West Hampton Dunes were listed as having “moderate” stress, and Brightwaters and Garden City were “susceptible” to fiscal stress.