Audit Objective
Did the Town of Whitestown Highway Superintendent (Superintendent) adequately safeguard and account for diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil inventories?
Audit Period
January 1, 2024 – March 26, 2026
Understanding the Audit Area
A Superintendent should adequately safeguard and account for diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil inventories to ensure these valuable assets are protected from loss, theft, waste and misuse. Accurate inventory records and periodic monitoring help ensure fuel and motor oil are used for authorized purposes, facilitate timely detection of discrepancies and provide accountability for taxpayer resources. Without effective inventory controls, officials may be unable to identify inventory shortages, unauthorized usage or excessive consumption, increasing the risk of financial loss and operational inefficiencies.
For the period January 1, 2024, through October 31, 2025, the Town purchased diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil totaling $203,190.
Audit Summary
The Superintendent did not properly safeguard and account for diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil inventories. As a result, fuel and motor oil purchases totaling $172,588 or 85 percent of the total purchases made from January 1, 2024, through October 31, 2025, could not be accounted for because usage records were either not maintained or were incomplete and unreliable. In addition, the absence of procedures to monitor inventory usage and levels, combined with unrestricted access to diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil inventories, significantly increased the risk that theft, misuse or inventory losses could occur and remain undetected.
The Superintendent did not ensure fuel pumps were turned off or that the gate securing the fuel area was locked when the highway garage was unattended. Furthermore, motor oil was stored in unsecured bulk drums and tanks accessible to Town employees, and the Superintendent did not address critical deficiencies in the fuel monitoring system. Specifically, the gasoline tank gauges and the electronic fuel card system were not functioning, limiting the Town’s ability to accurately track fuel inventory and usage. As a result, officials lacked assurance that fuel and motor oil inventories were properly safeguarded, used for authorized purposes and available to support highway operations.
The report includes six recommendations that, if implemented, will strengthen inventory controls and improve accountability over diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil inventories. Town officials generally agreed with our findings and recommendations and their response is 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 the New York State General Municipal Law. Our methodology and standards are included in Appendix C.
The Town Board (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 AuditReport, 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.