New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Town of Austerlitz, Town of Boonville, Town of Caton, Delaware County, Town of Indian Lake and Tompkins County.

“In today’s fiscal climate, budget transparency and accountability for our local communities is a top priority,” said DiNapoli. “By auditing municipal finances and operations, my office continues to provide taxpayers the assurance that their money is being spent appropriately and effectively.”

Town of Austerlitz – Internal Controls Over Payroll and Fuel Inventory (Columbia County)

Payroll duties were not properly segregated. Department heads are not required to sign time cards showing their approval, and pre-approval for overtime was not required. In addition, the town does not take a physical inventory of its fuel and does not reconcile fuel purchases and usage.

Town of Boonville – Claims Auditing and Conflict of Interest (Oneida County)

The board has not established an effective claims audit process. In addition, a board member has a prohibited interest in town contracts. From January 2013 through June 2014, auditors found the town made purchases from the board member’s business for more than $3,000.

Town of Caton – Supervisor’s Records and Reports (Steuben County)

The town does not have complete, accurate and up-to-date accounting records because the supervisor did not provide adequate oversight of the bookkeeper or adequately segregate the duties of the bookkeeper and payroll clerk.

Delaware County – Third-Party Contractual Services (2014M-287)

The county has awarded nine third-party contracts totaling $1.9 million without soliciting competition or documenting a justifiable reason for not soliciting competition and has paid three vendors $770,000 for various services without any written contracts with the vendors.

Town of Indian Lake – Reserves and Justice Court Operations (Hamilton County)

The board did not properly establish any of the town’s 14 capital reserves, totaling $614,266. The board also failed to seek necessary approval to establish any of these reserve funds. In addition, internal controls over the justice court’s accounting and reporting of financial activity were inadequate.

Tompkins County – Solid Waste (2014M-336)

The county has instituted various programs to divert waste from the landfill and monitors program effectiveness by tracking results at least quarterly. For fiscal years 2011 through 2013, the recycling program has saved the county more than $1 million.

For access to state and local government spending and 50,000 state contracts, visit OpenBookNY. The easy-to-use website was created by Comptroller DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.