New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company, Town of Ithaca and the Town of Smithtown.

"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."

Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company – Financial Operations (Warren County)

The treasurer did not maintain adequate, accurate and timely accounting records or prepare and provide the board with accurate periodic reports. The treasurer also did not prepare and file an annual report of foreign fire insurance funds. In addition, the board did not establish and implement adequate internal controls over collections and disbursements. Because records were so poor, the company could not provide assurance that all cash had actually been deposited.

Town of Ithaca – Information Technology (Tompkins County)

Town officials have sufficiently addressed some areas such as IT service contracts, anti-virus protection, patch management, online banking, wireless networks and physical controls. However, auditors found improvement opportunities in some areas were still needed.

Town of Smithtown – Departmental Operations (Suffolk County)

Town officials need to improve the fuel inventory recordkeeping to help ensure fuel is safeguarded. The board did not enter into written shared service agreements with any of the eight municipalities permitted to use town fuel. Additionally, the town highway department did not implement adequate procedures to ensure that municipalities are accurately billed for all fuel used.

For access to state and local government spending, public authority financial data and information on 130,000 state contracts, visit Open Book New York. The easy-to-use website was created to promote transparency in government and provide taxpayers with better access to financial data.