We reviewed 100 claims totaling approximately $5.3 million and found that they were adequately documented and for appropriate purposes. However, the District needs to improve the claims audit process because some claims were not subject to an independent claims audit and some were not properly approved before they were paid.

The District's Internet connectivity met the Federal Communications Commission's recommended bandwidth of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) per 1,000 students, as guided by New York State Education Department (NYSED). When tested, the average wireless Internet download speed was 232 Mbps, and the average ethernet cable Internet download speed was 564 Mbps.

The Board and officials did not establish realistic budgets. Also, the Board did not review periodic financial reports to monitor the budget and finances and did not establish a comprehensive written multiyear financial plan.

The District's Internet connectivity met the Federal Communications Commission's recommended bandwidth of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) per 1,000 students, as guided by New York State Education Department (NYSED). When tested, the average wireless Internet download speed was 127 Mbps.

Credit card charges were not always properly approved or adequately supported. Without adequate support, officials could not demonstrate that all charges were for School purposes.

The purpose of our review was to determine whether County officials have established appropriate controls to safeguard and account for court and trust funds for the period January 1, 2017 through June 17, 2022.

The District's Internet connectivity met the Federal Communications Commission's recommended bandwidth of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) per 1,000 students, as guided by New York State Education Department (NYSED). When tested, the average wireless Internet download speed was 134 Mbps and the average ethernet cable Internet download speed was 706 Mbps.

Officials did not establish nonresident tuition (NRT) rates for special education students in accordance with regulations.

District officials did not always seek competition to procure goods and services not subject to competitive bidding.

While the Board and BOCES officials properly established reserve funds, they did not transparently fund the reserves or use or maintain reserve funds at reasonable levels.

The City of Poughkeepsie Industrial Development Agency (CPIDA) Board did not properly evaluate and approve projects and monitor the performance of businesses that received financial benefits.

Town officials did not ensure IT systems were adequately secured and protected against unauthorized use, access and loss. In addition to sensitive IT control weaknesses that we communicated confidentially to Town officials.

The Board and District officials did not adopt realistic budgets and did not properly manage fund balance.

The Board did not properly manage and monitor the revolving loan fund program. As a result, the Board cannot ensure the loan proceeds were used to further the Corporation's mission.

The Board did not adopt realistic budgets or monitor and effectively manage fund balance.

The Board appropriated fund balance that was not needed to fund operations and was not transparent when funding reserves.

While the 198 BOCES purchase card charges we reviewed were adequately supported and for valid purposes, only one was properly approved.

The District did not maximize Medicaid reimbursements by submitting claims for all eligible Medicaid services provided.

Certain compensation paid to District administrators and business office personnel was inaccurate and/or did not have proper supporting documentation.

The Board and District officials did not effectively manage the District's financial condition. As a result, the District levied more taxes than needed to fund operations.

The Board and officials did not properly approve and monitor projects. Therefore, the Board could not effectively evaluate projects or hold project owners accountable.

We issued a report in May 2019 identifying certain conditions and opportunities related to cash receipts and disbursements for the Department management's review and consideration. Our audit included recommendations for the following findings: rental payments, disbursements made by the Treasurer and collections from the clothing organization, ambulance corporation and fundraising activities. To further our policy of providing assistance to local governments, we revisited the Department on February 22, 2022 to review progress in implementing our recommendations. Our follow-up review was limited to interviews with Department personnel and inspection of certain documents related to the issues identified in our report. Based on our limited procedures, it appears that the Department has made limited progress implementing corrective action. Of the 10 audit recommendations, one recommendation was implemented, three recommendations were partially implemented, and six recommendations were not implemented.

Claims we reviewed were supported and for appropriate BOCES purposes. However, all claims were not audited or approved prior to payment. As a result, BOCES has a higher risk of inaccurate or improper payments occurring.

The Board and District officials did not properly manage fund balance and reserve funds.

The Board did not provide adequate oversight of financial operations.