The Town of North Hempstead has aced a fiscal stress test.
According to data compiled by the office of the New York State comptroller, the Town of North Hempstead’s fiscal stress score was 5 percent and it was projected it to be under 2 percent by year’s end.
A lower percentage score means the municipality is under less financial stress.
This rating puts it lower than any other town in Nassau County and as the second lowest on Long Island, behind Shelter Island in Suffolk County.
The report assigns fiscal stress scores to municipalities like towns, villages, cities and counties based on financial data and is used to serve as an early warning of fiscal stress.
“I am pleased that we continue to be recognized for our financially responsible approach to providing services to the residents of our Town,” Supervisor Judi Bosworth said in a statement.
The state comptroller’s office rated North Hempstead as 5 percent as of Aug. 31 and projected that it will be under 2 percent by the end of 2017.
Save for Shelter Island, which has just over 2,000 people, most towns are more than double or triple that score. Neighboring Hempstead has a fiscal score of 28.3 percent. Oyster Bay, meanwhile, did not file any reports.
A town with a score in the high 40s to low 50s is considered under “susceptible fiscal stress,” and those in the mid-50s to low 60s are under “moderate fiscal stress.”
The highest category is shown as “significant fiscal stress,” which is anything in the mid-60s and higher.
The Town of North Hempstead’s fiscal stress rating follows Moody’s Investor Service affirming the town’s Aaa bond rating on its public improvement serial bonds.
“My administration’s efforts to keep the town financially sound continue to pay dividends acknowledged by the lowering of this score and our most recent Aaa affirmation from Moody’s,” Bosworth said.
