ALBANY - Officials from the City of Yonkers have very few options available to deal with any unforeseen occurrences or deviations from the budget, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said with the release of an audit of the city by his department.

“They must implement stringent fiscal oversight and controls to prevent further financial problems this year,” he said. While the auditors found the city’s budget was in technical compliance with the Fiscal Agent Act, however, during the review, auditors identified a number of risks with the city’s budget.

The auditors noted that the city’s 2010-11 budget relied on non-recurring funding, and relied on state legislation that would continue the city’s authorization to accrue certain revenue.

Auditors also believe city officials may have over-budgeted revenue from income tax surcharges by as much as $5.2 million and under-budgeted police overtime by more than $2 million.

The audit said the city’s long-term fiscal health is threatened by its growing debt burden, which has increased substantially over the past 10 years, with its debt service costs rising 84 percent over that period. Adding to the threat, the city plans to continue paying the cost of tax certiorari refunds by issuing an additional $12 million in debt.

For a full copy of the audit, see: www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/cities/2010/yonkers_br081810.pdf