Dunkirk officials may not have enough cash to make it to the end of 2024.
At this point, Dunkirk needs every dollar it can get.
“The state came in and gave a preliminary view (of our finances), “ Fiscal Affairs Officer Ellen Luczkowiak told the OBSERVER this week. “They’re concerned, quite frankly, with our ability to maintain cash flow through the end of year.”
Luczkowiak said state officials are also worried about the city’s record keeping. They think the city should hire a Certified Public Accountant.
“Of course, we can’t afford that. That’s the problem,” she said.
Dunkirk’s fiscal crisis came to light in late March. Since then, the city has approved a resolution limiting overtime and approved a $16 million loan from New York state. In addition, the state put the city on notice it must pay the state retirement program the hundreds of thousands of dollars in early February.
Luczkowiak reiterated that Mayor Kate Wdowiasz is working on two 2025 budgets. One proposal would tax up to the state constitutional limit and cut no services. The other would tax only to the state Legislature-imposed cap – and would cut services.
Wdowiasz has scheduled one-on-one meetings with department heads this week to discuss cutting expenses.
The state-mandated audit of the city’s finances in 2022 “is completely finished on our end,” Luczkowiak said. “We got them all the detail they need.” Information gathering for an audit of the city’s 2023 finances is ongoing.
Auditing of the Dunkirk Local Development Corporation and Dunkirk Industrial Development agency also has begun. Luczkowiak said “a local CPA firm” is doing those.
She said that she “reiterated the city needs a culture change” at Monday’s meeting of the Common Council Finance Committee.
“The whole way we do business needs to change going forward,” she said. “Change is never easy but we are trying really hard to find a way to make a difference. … You gotta figure out, one step at a time, how to drag yourself out of this.”