NORWICH – The City of Norwich has implemented a spending freeze brought about by its recent designation as a community vulnerable to fiscal stress, according to the New York State Comptroller’s Office.

A report that was released by the Comptroller last week discloses that the city’s fiscal stress score has worsened over the last lear, sliding from 31.7 percent in 2013 to 49.2 percent in 2014.

The fiscal stress monitoring system, created by the Comptroller’s Office in 2013, is a statewide initiative to keep municipalities out of the red. The higher the score on a fiscal stress report, the more susceptible a municipality is to potentially devastating financial burdens. Scores are based on financial and environmental factors, including a municipality’s fund balance, operating deficit, debt, population, and poverty and unemployment rates.

Communities considered “susceptible to fiscal stress” score between 45 percent and 54.9 percent. Communities scoring between 55 percent and 64.9 percent are considered to have moderate fiscal stress. Anything above 65 percent indicates significant fiscal stress.