If it wasn’t clear enough before, it sure is now: The city of Dunkirk no longer has full control of its finances.

Fiscal Affairs Officer Ellen Luczkowiak said Monday morning the state Comptroller’s Office is demanding a five-year plan for Dunkirk’s finances, and monthly reports on how they are currently looking. Luczkowiak spoke at a meeting of the Common Council’s Finance Committee.

She confirmed that the city’s $18 million fiscal lifeline from the state was included in the budget just passed in Albany. However, “It’s not something where they’re going to hand us $18 million and say, ‘Here, fix it.'”

Luczkowiak continued, “We’re going to have to answer to them (in Albany). We’re going to be talking to them on at least a monthly basis.”

As to how the city finds itself staring at a financial cliff, she acknowledged, “There’s lots of questions about that.” Luczkowiak just started as city fiscal affairs officer in January, replacing Marsha Beach, who was retained as a part-timer and also spoke at Monday’s meeting.

Councilperson-at-large Nick Weiser, Finance Committee chair, asked Luczkowiak about the Comptroller’s Office expectations and timeline for assisting the city.

“They are going to expect us to come up with not only ’24 and ’25 (budget projections) but five years out,” she said. “We have to make sure that everything makes sense. We gotta stop the bleeding somewhere. We really don’t want to cut services in the city, but it’s a discussion we need to have.”

Luczkowiak said the state wants the five-year plan by the end of May.

Beach commented that former Mayor Wilfred Rosas’ good relations with Albany got the city a lot of grant money — but those programs are mostly ending. She also repeated a common refrain among city officials, that the end of state aid to mitigate the mothballing of NRG’s power plant badly hurt the city’s revenue stream.

Luczkowiak promised an update on what she is hearing from state officials at every future meeting of the Finance Committee, which meets once a month.

She said of the Comptroller’s Office, “They will not let us fail.”