“Your score is a zero,” said Justin Wood of Nugent & Haeussler as he presented the firm’s annual audit of the town at the Town of Montgomery work session on Thursday.

In addition to their audit, Wood said they checked the NYS Comptroller’s website, which said the town scored a zero and was not listed as under any fiscal stress whatsoever.

“Which is the absolute best score for fiscal stress that you could receive, so the town is in great shape there,” said Wood. In addition, the 2020 audit report he presented gave the town an “unmodified opinion,” the firm’s highest rating available.

“Overall the town is in a strong financial position,” said Wood, noting that the fund balances for each town fund are “strong and healthy.”

Overall the town increased its fund balance by $881,000 and has a deficit in its general fund of $644,000. Wood stated there had been a planned deficit of $2.2 million, so the town’s position “actually speaks to a well-managed town,” especially given the challenges of 2020 and unforeseen expenditures.

“The strong performance by not only the general fund but the other funds in the town really is an excellent thing,” said Wood, taking the time to thank everyone for their cooperation and assistance.

Supervisor Brian Maher provided further positive news, stating the work on the Phase I zoning of the town’s new comprehensive plan looks like it will be “on target.” An update and presentation from planner Max Stach is expected at the town board’s meeting on Sept. 2 at 6 p.m.

In the meantime, however, town resident Sylvie Rainaldi stated the town’s boards like the zoning board need to be referencing the plan.

“Right now the boards are just completely ignoring that the comprehensive plan exists,” Rainaldi said during the public comment portion of the meeting, adding that it is members of the public that are coming up and pointing out issues.

Supervisor Brian Maher and Stephanie Tunic, attorney for the town, explained that the current zoning laws trump the newly adopted comprehensive plan.

“It would have to,” said Tunic. “It’s the law on the books.”

Rainaldi said she understood that, but still felt that the boards need to speak to it.

“This is where we’re headed and this is why we’re making our decisions and I don’t see why they’re just ignoring it,” said Rainaldi. “This is a community-driven comprehensive plan and the community is looking for us to talk about it.”

In other business, Supervisor Maher is looking to apply for a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant for federal funding for a pedestrian walking bridge, sidewalks and river walk.

Maher said the plan has “been out there in the community for several years” to create a pedestrian walking bridge connecting a park in the Village of Montgomery with Benedict Farm Park in the town.

“The application will also include sidewalks in the Village of Montgomery and the Town of Montgomery that would create a loop from Benedict Farm Park to the Village of Montgomery park to Union Street sidewalks, to Route 17K, to City Winery from a river walk trail,” said Maher.

Maher said Councilwoman Kristen Brown also suggested creating a river walk on the Route 17K side and connecting it to the pedestrian walk bridge.

“We’re going to look into that because it would be really cool,” said Maher.

According to Maher, the goal of TAP funding from NYSDOT perspective, is to take vehicles off state highways like Routes 17K and 208, and to tap into the existing business districts and residential areas and get them to utilize the parks without traveling via car on state roads.

“So it looks like we’re lined up really well to get this grant,” said Maher. “It’s going to be a couple million dollars application and it’s an 80 percent grant, so there will be some monetary commitment from the town.”

Maher said the town’s grant writing team has a good record obtaining this grant, with success for two other municipalities, each receiving more than $3 million dollars for their applications.

The grant is only available every five years, so to make the window, the town board will need to decide whether to move forward with the application in September.

“We’re really excited about this application,” said Maher. “We think we’re going to be competitive with other municipalities.”

The supervisor said the map of the project is “not ready for public consumption” but should be available in September as it will be attached to the application.

“I can’t wait to show the community what it will look like. I think people are going to be really excited about it—I am!” said Maher.

In the coming weeks, Maher said they also plan to have conversations on grant funding for the comprehensive bicycling study referred to in the comprehensive plan.

“That’s one area that I think got a lot of positive public feedback and I’d love to be able to take some action on that in the next couple years, specifically starting with funding for a comprehensive study that would be done by a planner,” said Maher.

The board voted to authorize the supervisor to sign the annual snow contract with Orange County. They also agreed to the purchase of a new police chief vehicle, replacing the wrecked 2020 Dodge Durango with a 2020 Chevy Malibu at a cost not to exceed $5,000 after the application of the check from the insurance company.

The board also regretfully accepted the resignation of Police Officer Dylan Locke, who will be leaving the town’s police department on August 30 to enter the New York State Policy Academy.

A public hearing was also set for the Chandler Heights subdivision for Sept. 16 at 6:45 p.m.