Audit Objective
Did the Town of Steuben (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 June 4, 2025, and back to fiscal year 2022. We extended our observation of public notice forward to July 18, 2025.
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 1,081, Town officials budgeted a total of $1.0 million 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
The Board did not conduct or provide for an annual audit of the Supervisor’s financial records and reports for fiscal year 2024 in accordance with New York State (NYS) Town Law (Town Law). In addition, the Supervisor did not file the 2022 through 2024 AFRs with OSC within 60 days after the fiscal years’ end, as required by NYS General Municipal Law (GML) Section 30. Furthermore, the Supervisor did not properly maintain financial information recorded in the accounting records, provide the Board with all necessary monthly financial reports, and ensure Town employees were paid in accordance with Board-approved pay rates.
Had the Board received complete monthly reports and conducted an 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 Board and Supervisor did not fulfill their statutory responsibilities, transparency of the Town’s fiscal condition was diminished as Town residents, taxpayers, OSC and other interested parties did not have timely access to the Town’s current fiscal activities.
Based on our review of the Supervisor’s records, we determined that the Supervisor did not:
- Properly maintain cash balance information in the accounting records, which undermined the Board’s general responsibility to oversee the Town’s financial operations and safeguard Town resources.
- Provide the Board with reports showing the checking bank account reconciliation and respective bank statements, hindering its ability to monitor the Town’s financial operations throughout the year.
- Ensure that Town employees were paid according to Board-approved pay rates. As a result, a highway employee was paid an hourly rate that was higher than the Board-authorized rate, resulting in overpayments totaling $13,371 for the period January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
This report includes 11 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.
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 C.
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.