Erie County Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz issued Erie County's ("County") audited financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2007 (also referred to as the "2007 audit") which revealed that the County ended 2007 with a $9.308 million surplus.

Poloncarz stated, "Erie County ended 2007 with a surplus of $9.308 million, resulting in the County's general fund balance growing to $47.5 million from only $4.9 million at the end of 2004. The 2007 results are very positive developments and reflect continued oversight from this office, increased fiscal discipline and more careful budgeting and spending than in prior years this decade. These results also demonstrate that the County is well on the path towards greater fiscal stability, contrary to the statements of others."

The comptroller noted that the 2007 surplus would have been significantly higher were it not for an unbudgeted $8.9 million intergovernmental transfer payment for Erie County Medical Center Corporation and an approximately $4.0 million prior year audit adjustment to the New York State Department of Health, each required by New York State.

Poloncarz also noted, "The 2007 County surplus could have been dramatically higher if the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority permitted the County to engage in a tax lien sale as had been approved in bipartisan fashion by the county executive, legislature and this office. This sale would have brought in over $30 million of additional revenue to the County; revenue which would have gone into surplus but is now unavailable due to the economic downturn in the national real estate industry."

The 2007 financial statements, prepared by the Office of Erie County Comptroller and audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, have been submitted to the Government Finance Officers Association for its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The County received the certificate for its 2005 and 2006 audits.

A copy of the 2007 financial statements can be found at the Comptroller's website: http://www.erie.gov/comptroller/financial_statements.asp.