Audit Objective
Did the Town of Spencer (Town) Board (Board) and officials seek competition for purchases?
Audit Period
January 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024
We extended the audit period through April 25, 2025, to analyze a conflict of interest.
Understanding the Audit Area
A town board and town officials should seek competition for purchases to help ensure the town is receiving the highest quality goods and services at the lowest price possible for taxpayers, while also preventing conflicts of interest and maintaining public trust. Competitive purchasing practices also foster a fair and equitable marketplace for vendors.
The Town Supervisor (Supervisor), Highway Superintendent (Superintendent) and department heads are responsible for making purchases for the Town. During the audit period, the Town paid approximately $2.1 million for goods and services.
Audit Summary
The Board and Town officials did not always seek competition for purchases, and one Board member had a prohibited conflict of interest that arose from his paving company providing services to the Town totaling $12,911 during the audit period. Because officials did not always solicit competition for goods and services or avoid conflicts of interest, they cannot guarantee that they secured the most favorable terms and conditions for the benefit of Town taxpayers.
We determined Town officials did not procure goods and services in accordance with the statutory requirements set forth in New York State General Municipal Law (GML) or with the Town’s procurement policy (Policy). The audit identified instances where officials and department heads responsible for purchasing did not:
- Issue requests for proposals (RFPs) or use any other competitive process before procuring professional services from two vendors totaling $127,359.
- Ensure purchases using the piggybacking exception totaling $100,000 adhered to the competitive bidding exception set forth in GML.
- Competitively bid, in accordance with GML, for paving services totaling $88,290.
- Document seeking competitive quotes for 11 purchases totaling $30,218, as required by the Policy.
The report includes five recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Town’s procurement function. Town officials generally agreed with our findings and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.
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 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 Town Clerk’s office.