BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- The town of Massena is under "moderate stress" according to a report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office. 

The news comes following the analysis of financial reports submitted by local governments to the Office of the Comptroller. 

The Fiscal Stress Monitoring System and subsequent stress designations rely on data that was as of August 29, 2025 from annual financial reports submitted by local governments. 

For Massena, a score of 63.3 places the town at the higher end of the scale. Sixty-five points or more would indicate a municipality is under significant stress, like the village of Island Park in Nassau county, which received a score of 81.7, the highest in the state. 

The town of Louisville was also on the list as being "susceptible to fiscal stress" with a score of 53.8, just outside the threshold for a "moderate stress" designation. 

The town of Canton was the third municipality in St. Lawrence County on the list, with a rating of 47.1 for a "susceptible to stress" designation as well. 

Financial strain for the town of Massena is nothing new, with trailing liabilities from the 2020 sale of Massena Memorial Hospital still lingering. 

Prior to leaving office, former Town Supervisor Steve O'Shaughnessy and a majority of board members approved repaying $1.7 million to St. Lawrence County for debt owed on the Worker's Compensation Plan. 

With the county and town settled up, the town was still on the hook for more than $5 million in back payments to the state retirement fund. 

Multiple attempts have been made in recent years by both Assemblyman Scott Gray and Senator Dan Stec to pass legislation at the state level that would allow for some form of debt forgiveness for the remaining liability, while also expanding borrowing options to lessen the burden of repayment. 

But those efforts have failed each time due to what some have called "apathy from downstate lawmakers" that have left the bills to the wayside. 

Just this year, the current town board authorized repaying the debt with annual payments of $383,214.24 over the course of 30 years. 

With a compounding interest rate of 7% however, that means the town will pay back more than double of what was initially owed to the state. 

Both Stec and Gray have pointed toward the hospital pension debt as an "urgent fiscal matter" that state lawmakers and the governor need to address, saying the precarious financial position created by the debt will continue to harm the municipality and taxpayers. 

Town Supervisor Sue Bellor previously said the Home Rule legislation proposed by Stec and Gray would provide the town with more financial flexibility to borrow funds to cover the debt, eliminating the excessive interest that will accrue over the next 30 years of repayment. 

When Massena Memorial Hospital was sold, the state Department of Health required the town to assume a portion of the debt from the sale of the hospital, despite issuing a $20 million grant to assist in the sale. 

But with the town borrowing $2 million in Aug. 2019 and an additional $2 million in Oct. 2019 just to meet payroll requirements, $4 million came directly from the $20 million grant to cover those bonds. 

O'Shaughnessy previously told North Country This Week that move was a dire step to keep the hospital afloat while they worked out a deal with the DOH and St. Lawrence Health. 

"When we bonded for those funds, we asked them 'what happens if we don't get this grant?' They told us we'd be on the hook for all $4 million, so it was definitely a risk," he previously said. 

State lawmakers have kept bills from Gray and Stec in committee the last two years, meaning no relief through Home Rule is possible. 

Town officials said they will continue to explore other repayment options, including grant funding to offset the costs of the debt, something that Gray and Stec both said falls "solely to the town of Masena." 

Both representatives questioned why only the town was on the hook for the pension debt, saying it was "an inequitable outcome given the hospital's regional role."

They presented three options to the Governor, including allocating state funds to reduce or entirely eliminate the liability through the state budget, amortization flexibility, or a combined approach that would relieve some of the debt coupled with an extended amortization schedule to make repayment more manageable for the town.

"While we recognize the challenges involved, there are numerous areas where we can justify extending amortization schedules for the long-term. Debt for comparable public obligations under Local Finance Law without setting a precedent," Stec and Gray previously wrote.

The hospital debt, coupled with rising costs for vehicles, repairs, materials, fuel and other necessities have led to budgets being cut deep to maintain staffing and services. 

Town officials said during budget sessions they are keen to maintain services and have plans to ensure staffing levels remain the same with the current budget, however that means that capital investment won't be possible in some areas. 

The town is currently working on next year's fiscal year budget with plans to adopt a final budget likely sometime in November. 

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