New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Town of Bethany, Bridgehampton Fire District, Town of Chester, Town of Nichols and the City of Yonkers.

"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 Bethany – Town Clerk Fees (Genesee County)

The clerk did not issue duplicate receipts for certain fees collected or deposit collections in a timely manner. The board is not annually auditing the clerk's books, records and documents.

Bridgehampton Fire District – Length of Service Award Program and Purchasing Practices (Suffolk County)

The district's adopted Length of Service Award Program point system does not comply with state law because it does not award the correct amount of points for some activities. In addition, while district officials used competitive bids, they did not always follow their policy when obtaining a minimum number of quotes for purchase and public works contracts. Auditors found district officials did not obtain the required number of written quotes for 12 purchases totaling $100,127.

Town of Chester – Time and Attendance Records (Orange County)

Some employees did not use time sheets, vouchers or timecards to record the time actually worked. Leave request forms were not used to monitor paid leave time. As a result, there is an increased risk that payroll errors or irregularities could occur and go undetected.

Town of Nichols – Financial Management (Tioga County)

Actual revenues exceeded budgeted amounts by an annual average of $418,000 and budgeted appropriations exceeded expenditures by an annual average of $203,000. Town officials have not developed multiyear financial or capital plans or a fund balance policy.

City of Yonkers – Payroll (Westchester County)

The city's leave accrual processes are decentralized and not administered uniformly, resulting in errors in employees' leave accruals. In addition, officials did not adequately oversee the department payroll clerks who maintained employee leave accrual records, or periodically review leave records to determine whether leave used was properly recorded. In the six departments audited, 31 of the 120 employees' records reviewed exceeded the maximum amount of vacation that city policy or collective bargaining agreements allowed them to carry over at the end of the year.

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