For the fourth consecutive year, the Office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has issued its top score for municipal fiscal health to the City of Newburgh, and cited a 10.4% year-to-year rise to median household income in its decision to upgrade the City’s long term outlook. The City of Newburgh is one of only three cities statewide to receive the State Comptroller’s top score for fiscal health in four consecutive years; the City improved its environmental stress score for three consecutive years before the designation was removed this year. The State Comptroller’s key assessment of municipal fiscal health confirms Moody’s Investment Services’ recent analysis that upgraded the City of Newburgh’s credit rating to A3 from Baa2.

The Office of the State Comptroller and Moody’s each cited the City’s strong governance structure and management team as leading factors in its upgrade to Newburgh’s financial outlook. In June, the City of Newburgh received North America’s most prestigious award for state and local government budgeting: the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, conferred by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).

“In 2019, the City Council and I charted a course to bring the City back from the brink of insolvency,” said City Manager Todd Venning in a prepared statement. “Five years later, leading public, private, and industry groups recognize Newburgh as one of the state’s best-run cities. In partnership with the City Council, this administration will continue to expand the local economy and maintain the open and transparent budgeting process that is returning the City to prosperity.”