Audit Objective
Did the Town of Hermon (Town) Town Clerk/Tax Collector (Clerk) properly record, deposit, remit and report all collections?
Audit Period
January 1, 2025 – March 12, 2026
Understanding the Audit Area
A town clerk (clerk) must accurately record, deposit, remit and report collections within the time frames prescribed in New York State (NYS) Town Law (Town Law) to enable informed decision-making by the town board, prevent theft or misappropriation of funds, comply with legal requirements and maintain public trust. Accurate records maintained in a timely manner are essential for establishing financial accountability and proper financial management, for oversight by the town board, and for protecting public funds.
From January 1 through December 31, 2025, the Clerk collected real property taxes, water and sewer revenues and clerk fees totaling approximately $1.6 million.
Audit Summary
For the collections we examined, the Clerk generally remitted tax collections and clerk fees to the appropriate parties in a timely manner and properly reported clerk fee collections. However, the Clerk did not properly record and deposit all collections. The Clerk’s inadequate collection records and not having a clear audit trail increased the risk that errors or irregularities could occur and remain undetected and that funds could be lost or misappropriated. When collections are not accurately recorded, and there is no clear audit trail from recorded collections to deposits, Town officials cannot be assured that all collections are accounted for and deposited intact as received. In addition, there is an increased risk that customers may not receive the proper credit for payments made and that other errors and irregularities could occur and go undetected and uncorrected.
We tested tax, water and sewer rent and clerk fee collections totaling $587,1481 and determined the Clerk generally deposited check collections in a timely manner. However, the Clerk’s records were insufficient to determine whether individual cash collections were deposited intact and in a timely manner. Furthermore, the Clerk deposited $197 less in cash than what was recorded as collected.
The Clerk also did not complete monthly bank reconciliations and accountability analyses comparing cash on hand with known liabilities. We performed an accountability analysis of the Clerk’s two bank accounts and identified an unexplained cash surplus of $923. Without monthly bank reconciliations and accountability analyses, errors, unrecorded receipts and other irregularities could occur and remain undetected and uncorrected. Also, Town officials could have less assurance that public funds are properly accounted for.
The report includes five recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Clerk’s financial records and procedures and help ensure collections are properly recorded, deposited and accounted for. Town officials agreed with our recommendations and have initiated corrective action.
This audit was conducted pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and the Office of the New York State Comptroller’s (OSC’s) authority as set forth in Article 3 of the NYS General Municipal Law (GML). The audit’s 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 OSC within 90 days, pursuant to Section 35 of GML. For more information on preparing and filing the CAP, please refer to the OSC brochure, Responding to an OSC Audit Report, which was provided with the draft audit report. The Board is encouraged to make the CAP available for public review in the Clerk’s office.
1 See Appendix C for our audit methodology.