Fiscal Year Ending May 31, 2025
A structured review of the Village's management-prepared financial statements (FY 2024–2025)
Download Full ReportFiscal Year Ending May 31, 2025
The Village of Penn Yan's Annual Financial Report (AFR) is the official financial filing submitted to the New York State Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). It presents the Village's finances in a standardized format required by New York State.
While the independently audited financial statements confirm that the numbers are fairly presented under accounting rules, the AFR focuses on how the Village actually operated during the fiscal year — including revenues collected, expenses paid, fund balances, and debt outstanding.
The AFR shows that Penn Yan is not operating in a current-year deficit and maintains operating reserves.
However, it also shows:
The AFR is the State's standardized transparency tool. It provides clarity on operating performance — not just accounting net worth.
When viewed alongside:
the AFR helps residents understand how the Village is functioning financially year-to-year.
The AFR supports a picture of operational stability with ongoing capital and infrastructure demands.
The key long-term question is not whether the Village's finances are compliant — they are.
The more important question is whether:
remain aligned over the next decade.
The AFR is the State's standardized financial lens. It allows residents to compare Penn Yan to other municipalities, review multi-year trends, and evaluate whether financial stability is improving, holding steady, or tightening.
Each tells a different part of the story.
This document is the Village's official financial presentation, including:
It reflects management's presentation of fiscal condition, prepared under governmental accounting standards and reviewed through independent audit.
This page analyzes the substance of those disclosures.
Total Net Position: approximately $42.3M
This figure represents the Village's overall accounting net worth.
Governmental Activities
≈ $10.2M
Business-Type Activities (Utilities)
≈ $32.1M
A substantial portion of net position is reported as net investment in capital assets — infrastructure such as electric distribution systems, sewer treatment facilities, water infrastructure, buildings, and equipment. This concentration indicates asset strength, but limited liquidity.
Total Fund Balance
≈ $5.68M
Unassigned Fund Balance
≈ $3.03M
This indicates an operating cushion and near-term budget stability. However, evaluation of sustainability requires multi-year trend analysis, revenue stability review, pension contribution forecasting, and capital transfer requirements.
Deficit Position
≈ $(856K)
This suggests project expenditures preceding long-term financing and anticipated future borrowing. Capital deficits are common during active infrastructure cycles, but trend direction matters.
Utilities represent the majority of Village asset value. They include:
Electric Operations
Water Operations
Sewer Operations
Significant infrastructure footprint, moderate long-term debt, and interfund interactions with General Fund. Utility system health directly affects ratepayer exposure, infrastructure replacement cycles, and future borrowing requirements.
Total Long-Term Liabilities: approximately $17.7M
Includes the following structural obligations that must be serviced over time:
Bonds Payable
State/EFC Loans
Net Pension Liability (ERS/PFRS)
LOSAP Obligations
Compensated Absences
Pension and actuarial obligations introduce sensitivity to market performance, State contribution rate changes, and demographic trends.
The Village utilizes a mix of financing instruments:
Long-Term Bonds
State Revolving Fund Loans
Bond Anticipation Notes (BANs)
Post-year-end disclosures show additional BAN issuance for capital needs, including public safety equipment. BANs are common municipal financing tools but increase refinancing exposure if used repeatedly or during elevated interest-rate environments. The trend and maturity structure warrant ongoing monitoring.
Net capital assets total approximately $31M+
The Village's financial position is heavily infrastructure-dependent.
Infrastructure assets:
Reported net position is largely non-liquid. The Village's "wealth" is primarily tied up in physical infrastructure rather than cash reserves.
Factors that will determine long-term fiscal flexibility
Based on the Village's financial report, the following areas merit continued observation:
Capital Reserve Adequacy
Pension Contribution Volatility
BAN Rollover Frequency
Utility System Capital Needs
Debt Service Trajectory
Interfund Transfers and Dependency
The financial report provides a snapshot of current position. It does not answer:
Those questions require modeling beyond the annual report.
The Village of Penn Yan's financial statements indicate overall structural stability and compliance with accounting standards.
However, the balance sheet is:
Infrastructure-Heavy
Obligation-Bearing
Moderately Leveraged
The financial report shows where the Village stands today. Future fiscal health will depend on:
Return to the Fiscal Health Dashboard to explore additional analysis, comparisons, and accountability questions
FY ending May 31, 2025
BST & Co., CPAs, LLP
This analysis is based exclusively on publicly available financial documents and audited disclosures.