Government Finance Officers Association Honors Brookhaven with a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Government Accounting

Farmingville, NY – On January 31, 2012, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded the Town of Brookhaven with a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2010.

“I am proud that for two years in a row Brookhaven’s financial reporting has received the highest honor. Not only have we froze taxes for three years in a row and cut spending by over 26%, but we are going above and beyond when it comes to being transparent about our finances,” said Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko.

The CAFR is a "best in class designation" in financial reporting excellence for municipalities and is a significant accomplishment for the Town of Brookhaven. The CAFR provides a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the Town's fiscal condition and operations by requiring explanations and schedules above minimum state and federal financial reporting requirements.

This is the second time the Town of Brookhaven developed a CAFR, the first being last year. The CAFR includes information such as an independent auditors report, a management discussion and analysis of the Town’s finances, basic financial statements such as a statement of net assets, a statement of expenditures and revenues, changes in fund balance, a statistical analysis of financial trends, debt capacity, demographic and economic statistics, and operating information, such as staffing counts.

Supervisor Lesko has worked with the Town Board to implement a conservative fiscal approach in Brookhaven. The 2012 Budget, “Freezing Taxes…Three Years in a Row” passed unanimously last year. Since Supervisor Lesko has been in office, he has cut spending by over 26% and reduced debt by 39% since 2010. The Town extended the white and blue collar collective bargaining agreements, which will save the Town approximately $25 million over the life of the contract. In addition, a spending, tax, and a debt management cap passed through a Town-wide referendum with over 75% of the vote. Supervisor Lesko has also proactively managed the budget by reducing the use of surplus to $2 million from $23.6 million budgeted in 2010.

As a result, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S & P) bond rating agencies have recognized Brookhaven’s effective management of fiscal challenges by affirming the Town’s high bond ratings eight times in the past three years.

The GFOA established the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program (CAFR Program) in 1945 to encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to prepare comprehensive annual financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal. Reports submitted to the CAFR program are reviewed by selected members of the GFOA professional staff and the GFOA Special Review Committee (SRC), which comprises individuals with expertise in public-sector financial reporting. The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals.

Division of Public Information * Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6595 • Fax (631) 451-6258