New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Niagara County, Orient Fire District, City of Salamanca, Town of Ticonderoga and the Upper Mohawk Valley Memorial Auditorium Authority.

“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.”

Niagara County – Golf Course Financial Operations (2015M-308)

County officials did not establish accountability over golf course sales. Consequently, golf course sales were not all recorded in the electronic point of sale system, cash receipts were not always deposited in a timely manner and cash on hand was not properly safeguarded.

Orient Fire District – Cash Reserves and Credit Cards (Suffolk County)

The board did not exercise appropriate oversight or establish sound policies and procedures related to credit card usage and did not provide sufficient oversight of travel and meal expenditures. The treasurer paid credit card claims prior to board approval.

City of Salamanca – Selected Financial Activities (Chautauqua County)

The city council did not develop a long-term financial plan, long-term capital plan or require a cash flow analysis to monitor and assess reported revenues for reasonableness. The comptroller did not provide the council with cash flow analyses and did not submit casino revenue claims in a timely manner to the Seneca Nation. The comptroller did not enforce the collection of overdue property tax payments in a timely manner and did not follow tax enforcement procedures prescribed by law.

Town of Ticonderoga – Financial Records and Reports (Essex County)

The supervisor’s clerk did not maintain complete, accurate and timely accounting records and the supervisor did not provide sufficient oversight of the clerk’s accounting duties. The town’s accounting records did not agree with the amounts reported on its 2013 and 2014 annual financial reports.

Upper Mohawk Valley Memorial Auditorium Authority – Procurement (Oneida County)

The two procurement policies in effect during the audit period did not provide adequate guidance for purchases when competitive bidding was not required. Auditors found authority officials did not obtain required quotes for eight purchases totaling $140,737.

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.