Audit Objective
Determine whether the Village of Addison (Village) Board of Trustees (Board) ensured that the Clerk-Treasurer accurately paid officials and employees’ wages and leave benefits.
Key Findings
The Board did not fulfill its oversight and fiscal duties and responsibilities (see Village of Addison – Board Oversight (2024M-8)). The Board did not ensure the former Clerk-Treasurer1 accurately paid wages and leave benefits for the nine full-time individuals employed as of March 19, 2023, and two that left employment during the audit period. The former Clerk-Treasurer overpaid employees and made inappropriate and unauthorized payments to herself and other employees totaling $341,992 and tried to pay herself an additional $26,613. The former Clerk-Treasurer failed to adhere to the established policy and collective bargaining agreement (CBA) regarding employees’ leave benefits.
As a result of the Comptroller’s audit and subsequent investigation, the former Clerk-Treasurer was arrested in 2023 and charged with misappropriating funds and making unauthorized payments totaling more than $1.1 million in Village funds over a 19-year period. In May 2024, she pleaded guilty to one count of first degree Corrupting the Government (B Felony) and was sentenced to three to nine years in State prison in August 2024. As part of her sentence, the former Clerk-Treasurer was required to forfeit her monthly public pension. This sentence represents the first time a public official in New York State surrendered their pension as a penalty for corruption while in office.
Key Recommendations
The report includes three recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Village’s payroll function. Village officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they have initiated corrective action.
1 The former Clerk-Treasurer resigned on March 1, 2023.