Village of Red Hook to boost its fund balance

Followup to story on Red Hook, from Poughkeepsie Journal.

For Village of Red Hook officials, the threat of fiscal stress isn’t news, Mayor Ed Blundell said. Red Hook is one of 15 villages in the state undergoing some fiscal stress, according to state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. DiNapoli used financial indicators such as year-end fund balance, cash position and patterns of operating deficits for an overall fiscal stress score. Red Hook landed on the lowest level — “susceptible to stress” — with a score of 49.2 percent. A score of 45 to 55 percent would get a village on the list. Red Hook is on the list largely because of a low fund balance — about $168,000, Blundell said. Raising the fiscal reserves is something village officials have been addressing.