Audit Objective
Did the Town of Alexander (Town) Town Clerk/Tax Collector (Clerk) record, deposit, report and remit collections accurately and in a timely manner?
Audit Period
August 1, 2019 – May 30, 2023.
We extended our audit period back to 2018 to review and analyze reported collections data and trends. See Appendix C for further details.
Release of this report was held in abeyance while the matter was under review by outside law enforcement.
Understanding the Audit Area
A town clerk must record, deposit, report and remit collections in a timely and accurate manner to prevent loss or theft, ensure funds are available for operations, maintain financial integrity, meet legal/statutory requirements, and allow for proper oversight and audit. Delays create risks, making funds vulnerable to misappropriation and obscuring accountability.
The former Clerk’s tenure started in July 2019 and ended on December 16, 2024, when she resigned. Clerk fees collected in fiscal year 2022 were $23,000, down from $40,000 (43 percent) collected in 2018. Real property taxes collected for 2023 were $2.1 million.
Audit Summary
The former Clerk did not record, deposit, report or remit collections accurately and did not record or deposit collections in a timely manner. The former Clerk was arrested in July 2024 and was arraigned on charges of grand larceny, falsifying business records, forgery and corrupting the government. In January 2025, the former Clerk pleaded guilty to petit larceny, resigned from her position and paid restitution to the Town.
The Town Board (Board) did not adequately monitor transfer station punch card purchases or sales, review the former Clerk’s records or implement recommendations from prior reviews and audits. As a result, the discrepancies identified went unnoticed and uncorrected. In addition, when adequate records and reports are not maintained, the Board does not have reliable information to oversee the Town’s financial activities and make informed decisions.
Our audit determined that the former Clerk did not:
- Issue pre-printed duplicate receipts with sequential numbers or retain other adequate supporting documentation to support collection records.
- Indicate the form of payment received for clerk fees or taxes collected.
- Record, deposit, report or remit all clerk fees and taxes collected.
- Account for 262 transfer station punch cards totaling $8,500.
Annual total collections recorded decreased by approximately $17,000 (43 percent) from 2018, the year prior to the former Clerk taking office, to 2022, the most recently completed year during the audit period.
We determined:
- There was a steady and significant decrease in the number of transfer station punch cards recorded as sold from 748 cards in 2018 to 167 cards in 2022, a reduction of 581 cards (78 percent).
- There was a significant decrease in the number of building permits and land separation fees1 recorded as collected. Permit fees recorded as collected declined from 36 permits totaling $3,928 in 2018 to 15 permits totaling $2,225 in 2022, a reduction of 21 permits (58 percent).
- Dog license fees recorded as collected decreased from 634 licenses totaling $3,448 in 2018 to 456 licenses totaling $3,041 in 2022, a reduction of 178 licenses (28 percent).
The report includes 19 recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Town’s controls over Clerk fee and tax collections. Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and have taken and indicated that they will continue to take corrective action. Their response is included in Appendix B.
We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and the Office of the New York State Comptroller’s (OSC) authority as set forth in Article 3 of the New York State General Municipal Law (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 should 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 Clerk’s office.
1 Land separation fees are costs associated with dividing a single parcel of land into multiple, separate parcels and updating applicable records.