Municipal Electric Utilities of New York Association of New York State

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
111698020
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
East Syracuse, NY, USA
Phone
3154537851
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,532,302
Expenses
$1,485,387
Assets
$1,234,826
Liabilities
$283,978

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Thomas Posella (President)
  • Luke Wenschhof (Vice President, Secretary)
  • Nancy Mitchell (Vice President, Treasurer)
  • Kimball Daby (President Elect)
  • James Stokes (Executive director)

Highest reported compensation

  • James Stokes (Executive director): $108,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

This Association purpose shall be to foster and advance the efficient operation of publicly owned and operated electric systems including the production, distribution, conservation for the prudent use of electric power.It is operated for the mutual benefit of all members and does not engage in business for profit.

What it reported doing in 2025

Legal and consulting costs to ensure that the over 1 million New Yorkers who use public power receive their share of hydro-power and electricity efficently as possible

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.9%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 93.5%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.1%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.83; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.9% of revenue deployed · 93.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 40 of 40 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $108K · 5 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $400K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.