Audit Objective
Did the Town of Middlesex (Town) Town Board (Board) ensure that code enforcement revenues were accurately billed, collected, deposited, recorded and reported?
Audit Period
January 1, 2015 – December 12, 2025
Understanding the Audit Area
A town board is responsible for ensuring that code enforcement revenues are properly billed, collected, deposited, recorded and reported to uphold its responsibility for managing and controlling town finances and reduce the risk of misappropriation, theft or clerical errors that can lead to lost revenue. A town board also must ensure that it has accurate and up-to-date financial information needed to make informed operational decisions and to protect the public’s trust in the town board’s efficiency and effectiveness.
From January 1, 2015, through August 13, 2025, the Town’s code enforcement office processed 784 building permits and 313 applications1 and collected $190,146 in associated code enforcement fees.
Audit Summary
The Board did not ensure that all code enforcement revenues were accurately billed, collected, deposited, recorded and reported. The Board also did not develop and implement written policies and procedures to provide guidance and expectations for the code enforcement function, and the former code enforcement officer (CEO) did not bill for or collect all code enforcement revenues due to the Town. As a result, the Board did not have complete and accurate financial records needed to make informed operational decisions. For example:
- The Board did not ensure that the CEO and code enforcement clerk billed applicants for all engineering services totaling $56,718.
- The CEO and Town officials did not recover fees for engineering services totaling $31,277 for which the Town was billed.
- The CEO and Town Clerk incorrectly recorded code enforcement revenues totaling $13,139.
The report includes eight recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Board’s oversight over the code enforcement office activities. Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and have initiated or indicated they planned 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 the New York State General Municipal Law. 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 the New York State General Municipal Law. 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.
1 Applications included site plan reviews, variances and major and minor subdivisions.