Audit Objective
Did the Town of Williamstown (Town) Supervisor (Supervisor) maintain accurate financial records, provide adequate reports to the Town Board (Board) and file the required Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) with the Office of the New York State Comptroller (OSC)?
Audit Period
January 1, 2025 – May 13, 2026
We extended the audit period to review the Town’s 2023 through 2025 AFR filings as of June 29, 2026.
Understanding the Audit Area
The town supervisor is responsible for maintaining complete, accurate and up-to-date financial records, providing the town board with timely, accurate and comprehensive financial reports and filing the required AFR with OSC. These responsibilities provide the town board with reliable financial information needed to effectively oversee the town’s financial operations, monitor its financial condition and make informed decisions. Timely filing of the AFR also promotes transparency, accountability and public trust by providing officials, taxpayers and other stakeholders with reliable financial information while ensuring compliance with statutory reporting requirements.
The Town’s budgeted appropriations for the 2025 fiscal year from January 1 through December 31 totaled $1.4 million and was primarily funded by real property taxes, State aid, sales tax and reimbursements from Oswego County (County) for maintaining County roads (e.g., snow removal).
Audit Summary
The Supervisor did not maintain accurate accounting records, provide the Board with adequate monthly financial reports, and file the Town’s AFRs as required. As a result, the Board’s ability to properly and effectively monitor and manage the Town’s financial operations and make informed decisions was limited, and the Town’s financial standing at year-end was not transparent to the Board, Town residents, OSC and other interested parties. Specifically, the Supervisor did not:
- Ensure the accounting records accurately reflected all financial transactions and account balances. For example, payroll-related liabilities were overstated by $236,089 and revenues totaling $384,515 were misclassified or improperly recorded in the records.
- Provide the Board with monthly financial reports, such as budget-to-actual reports for revenues and expenditures, balance sheet reports, receipt and disbursement reports, and bank reconciliations and statements for the trust and agency fund. In addition, budget-to-actual reports would not have been reliable had they been given to the Board because certain revenues were misstated in the records and the 2025 adopted budget was not properly recorded in the records.
- Comply with New York State General Municipal Law (GML) Section 30, which requires the Supervisor to file the Town’s AFR with OSC within 60 days following the end of the fiscal year. During the audit, the Supervisor filed the 2023 AFR on March 9, 2026, or 738 days late, and the 2024 and 2025 AFRs remained outstanding as of the end of the audit period.1
The report includes nine recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Town’s accounting and financial reporting practices, enhance the reliability and transparency of financial information, ensure compliance with statutory reporting requirements and provide the Board with the information necessary to effectively oversee the Town’s financial condition and operations. Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.
This audit was conducted pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and OSC’s authority as set forth in Article 3 of GML. The audit’s 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.
1 OSC’s website provides more information on AFR non-filers and the Town’s current AFR filing status at : https://web.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/afr-non-filers/.