Cities in the State are facing numerous challenges to their fiscal health. As a few cities across the country have declared bankruptcy or slashed services, the Committee wishes to explore options to prevent those incidents from happening in New York State.

The New York State Comptroller has created a Fiscal Stress Monitoring System that will hopefully help cities, as well as other municipalities, identify their level of fiscal stress and avail themselves of the services provided by the Comptroller’s office. The Comptroller has published fiscal profiles of five cities this year: Gloversville, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica and Yonkers. The Committee will invite those cities to offer testimony about the process involved with the new system and any results that came from having a fiscal profile done.

In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee’s interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

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Persons invited to present testimony at the public hearing on the New York State Comptroller’s new Fiscal Stress Monitoring System are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail, email or fax it to: