Audit Objective
Did the Town of Clermont (Town) Board (Board) conduct or provide for an annual audit of the Town Supervisor’s (Supervisor) financial records and reports, and did the Supervisor file the Annual Financial Report (AFR) with the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) as required?
Audit Period
January 1, 2024 – May 1, 2025.
We extended our observation of annual AFR filings forward to November 28, 2025, and back to fiscal year 2021.
Understanding the Audit Area
To help promote transparency, a town board should conduct a thorough and sufficiently detailed audit of the town supervisor’s records to determine whether the accounting records are properly maintained, as well as that reports are complete and accurate. Furthermore, in light of a town board’s responsibility to oversee the general management and control of the town’s finances, the town board should also help ensure that the town supervisor annually prepares, files and makes the AFR available to the public.
With a population of 2,058, Town officials budgeted a total of approximately $942,000 for the general fund and highway fund appropriations in fiscal year 2024 and provided essential services to the public, such as general government support, street maintenance and improvement, snow removal and fire protection.
Audit Summary
Although the Board conducted an audit of the Supervisor’s financial records and reports for fiscal year 2024, the Board did not maintain any supporting documentation to show the extent of the work performed or the results of the audit. In addition, as shown in Figure 1, the Supervisor did not prepare and file the 2022 through 2024 AFRs with OSC, as required by NYS General Municipal Law (GML) Section 30. Furthermore, the Supervisor provided the Board with incomplete monthly financial reports.
Had the Board received complete monthly reports and conducted a thorough annual audit of the
Supervisor’s books, records and documents, it may have identified and potentially helped remedy these issues. Without complete, accurate and reliable financial information, the Board cannot effectively monitor the Town’s financial position and available fund balance to make informed decisions. Because the Supervisor did not fulfill his statutory responsibilities, transparency of the Town’s fiscal condition was diminished, as Town residents, taxpayers, OSC and other interested parties did not have access to the Town’s current fiscal activities.
Based on our review of the Supervisor’s records, we determined that the Supervisor did not:
- Provide the Board with all necessary monthly financial reports, hindering its ability to monitor the Town’s financial affairs throughout the year.
- Ensure Board-approved hourly rates were used to pay the highway department employees, which increased the risk of inconsistent, incorrect and/or inequitable compensation.
This report includes eight recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Town’s financial reporting and help the Board and Supervisor improve the transparency of their fiscal activities. Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and their response is included in Appendix B. Appendix C includes our comment on an issue raised in the Town’s response.
We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and the State
Comptroller’s authority as set forth in Article 3 of GML. Our methodology and standards are included in Appendix D.
The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. A written corrective action plan (CAP) that addresses the findings and recommendations in this report must be prepared and provided to our office within 90 days, pursuant to Section 35 of GML. For more information on preparing and filing your CAP, please refer to our brochure, Responding to an OSC Audit Report, which you received with the draft audit report. We encourage the Board to make the CAP available for public review in the Town Clerk’s (Clerk’s) office.