Audit Objective 

Determine whether the Town of Pound Ridge (Town) Board (Board) procured goods and services in accordance with Board policy and applicable statutory requirements and properly audited claims prior to payment.

Key Findings 

Town officials did not procure all goods and services in accordance with Board policy and applicable statutory requirements. As a result, officials cannot support that all goods and services were procured in the most cost-effective manner, which may have resulted in higher operational costs that would be passed onto taxpayers. The Board also did not always properly audit claims before approving them for payment. When a thorough and effective claims audit is not conducted, the Board diminishes its ability to effectively monitor Town financial operations and there is an increased risk that claims could have been paid for inappropriate purposes. For example: 

• Town officials did not seek competition or maintain supporting documentation for 28 purchases totaling approximately $745,372.
• 48 claims totaling approximately $299,716 were not properly audited by the Board before payment, including 23 credit card claims (685 purchases) totaling $179,716.
• 226 credit card purchases totaling $54,359 did not have supporting documentation such as receipts or itemized invoices. 

Key Recommendations 

Ensure compliance with New York State General Municipal Law (GML) and Town procurement policy requirements and conduct a thorough audit of all claims prior to approval for payment. 

Town officials generally agreed with our findings and indicated that they plan to initiate corrective action.