The Board did not always seek competition when procuring professional services. Of the 67 professional service providers that were paid approximately $364,000 in 2024, we determined that the Board did not seek competition prior to selecting 54 professional service providers that were paid approximately $274,000 for various services including legal, engineering, bookkeeping, auditing and water testing services. As a result, Board members may not have been aware of other professional service providers who could offer similar services at a more favorable rate. This was due in part because the Board adopted a procurement policy that lacked guidance on soliciting competition for professional services prior to selecting professional service providers.

The purpose of our review was to assess the Town of Hempstead Local Development Corporation’s (THLDC’s) progress, as of June 2025, in implementing our recommendation in the audit report Town of Hempstead Local Development Corporation – Project Approval and Oversight (2021M-37), released in September 2021.

The Board did not adequately oversee or manage the Town’s ambulance service. The Board’s general lack of oversight of and policy development for the District resulted in excessive fund balance and unnecessary tax increases. Additionally, a loss of revenue or fraudulent activity could occur.

The purpose of our review was to assess the North Salem Central School District’s (District’s) progress, as of May 2025, in implementing our recommendations in the audit report North Salem Central School District – Network User Accounts (2022M-140), released in June 2023.

The purpose of our review was to determine whether County officials established appropriate controls to safeguard and account for court and trust funds for the period January 1, 2024 through September 3, 2025.

The purpose of our review was to assess the Village of Cato’s (Village’s) progress, as of June 10, 2025, in implementing our recommendations in the audit report Village of Cato – Water Financial Operations (2023M-145), released in March 2024.

While the Board and District officials generally ensured that the non-payroll disbursements we reviewed totaling approximately $2.8 million were adequately supported and for valid District purposes, they did not always ensure that the disbursements were properly audited and approved before officials made the disbursements. As a result, there was an increased risk that improper or unsupported payments could have been made and may not have been detected and corrected.

District officials did not always appropriately authorize and accurately calculate separation and unused leave payments; resulting in erroneous payments. This occurred because District officials did not perform an adequate independent review of separation and unused leave calculations and eligibility. Without written procedures to provide guidance and clear expectations; District officials did not implement a practice to review supporting documentation when reviewing and approving the payments. As a result; calculation errors went undetected.

The Board did not adopt budgets with reasonable estimates or properly establish and manage capital reserve funds. As a result, from 2019 through 2023, the Board transferred an additional $1 million into reserve funds. This was 45 percent more than the $2.2 million in transfers planned, with no indication of the Board’s plan to use the funds. The District’s tax levy increased by $771,762 from 2019 to 2024, meaning that real property taxes may have been higher than necessary.

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, 2023 through May 31, 2025.

The Board did not effectively manage the general and highway fund balances, allowing excessive unrestricted fund balances to accumulate in both funds. In addition, the Board did not develop or adopt written fund balance or reserve policies, as well as written multiyear financial and capital plans. By developing these policies and plans, the Board would provide more transparency regarding the Town’s long-term financial needs and goals and help guide the Board and officials as they develop the Town’s annual budgets.

Did the Eastport Fire District (District) Board of Commissioners (Board) seek competition for the procurement of goods and services?

The purpose of our review was to assess the Starpoint Central School District’s (District’s) progress, as of May 2025, in implementing our recommendations in the audit report Starpoint Central School District – Network Access and Application User Permissions (2022M-101), released in October 2022.

Although three Project construction contracts totaling $4.8 million were properly procured, the Board may have made material alterations to bid specifications for two other contracts totaling $1.2 million, which brings into question whether they were properly awarded. Additionally, although not required by the Town’s procurement policy (Policy), the Board could have solicited some type of competition and documented the results to help provide assurance that one professional service contract totaling approximately $382,000 was obtained under the most favorable terms and conditions possible and without favoritism.

The Board did not have the necessary information it needed to help ensure that the Department’s financial operations were adequately accounted for and reported. Also, it did not enforce the limited financial provisions outlined in the Department’s bylaws and written purchasing policy related to disbursements. In addition, the Board did not adopt other financial policies and procedures or a required code of ethics, or provide guidance to the Treasurer for recording and reporting financial transactions. Furthermore, the Board generally did not review the Department’s bills before or after they were paid to help ensure that all 230 claims totaling $260,823 were properly supported and for appropriate Department purposes. Lastly, the Board did not ensure that the Treasurer maintained supporting documentation for all revenues and redeposited startup cash totaling $259,178 that were received and deposited from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024.

The purpose of our review was to assess the Town of Danby’s (Town’s) progress, as of May 2025, in implementing our recommendations in the audit report Town of Danby – Town Clerk (2022M-8), released in May 2022.

School officials did not appropriately track, inventory and safeguard IT assets acquired or in use during the audit period. Officials did not maintain complete, accurate and up-to-date inventory records to properly account for IT assets. The School’s written agreement with the Company did not explicitly state who was responsible for the inventory of IT assets. Although the Board adopted a policy that required Company employees and the managed service provider to maintain inventory records and an annual inventory for IT assets purchased, the Board did not adopt a comprehensive written policy for managing all IT assets. While the Regional Superintendent, a Director of Operations and a special projects manager told us that the School follows the Company’s written policies and procedures neither the Board’s nor the Company’s policy provided detailed guidance for maintaining inventory records for other IT assets, such as those that the Directors of Operations or special project managers purchased directly with other funds. As a result, Company employees, the managed service provider, the Directors of Operations and special project managers maintained inventory records containing incomplete and inconsistent information.

According to a District official, the District has never filed claims for Medicaid reimbursement. Although the District provided 2,379 services to students with IEPs that were eligible for Medicaid reimbursement totaling $1.1 million throughout the two-year audit period, District officials did not submit any claims for reimbursement and as a result, forfeited the District’s share of reimbursement totaling approximately $566,000.

District officials did not properly identify, report or implement needed remediation to reduce lead exposure in all potable water outlets as required by NYS Public Health Law and Department of Health (DOH) regulations. We determined 178 of the 665 (27 percent) water outlets we identified that students, staff and the public may have access to and could consume water from, were not sampled or properly exempted by District officials for Cycle Two. This occurred because District officials did not have a sampling plan to identify all water outlets for sampling or exemption.

The Supervisor did not maintain complete and accurate accounting records and reports. As a result, the Board lacked reliable records and reports to effectively manage the Town’s financial operations.