New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government audits have been issued.

Town of Bath – Real Property Tax Exemptions Administration (Steuben County)

Auditors reviewed 125 real property tax exemptions totaling $52.1 million and identified issues with 21 exemptions. Sixteen exemptions totaling $738,693 in town-exempted assessed value lacked one or more pieces of supporting documentation to determine eligibility or verify the accuracy of the exemption calculation. Auditors also found five exemptions were incorrectly calculated.

Town of Brownville Joint Fire District – Board Oversight (Jefferson County)

Auditors tested 75 of 480 disbursements made during the audit period, totaling $31,300, and found that 15 totaling $7,159 were not audited and approved by the board. In addition, the board did not audit and approve $14,000 debit card purchases before payment.

Town of Fort Covington – Justice Court Operations (Franklin County)

The justices did not consistently identify whether collections and corresponding deposits were in the form of checks or cash. The justices did not maintain accurate outstanding bail reports. Also, the town board did not annually audit the justices’ books and records, as required.

Town of Lysander – Real Property Tax Exemption Administration (Onondaga County)

Auditors reviewed 116 properties with agricultural, senior citizen and veteran exemptions and found 14 lacked adequate supporting documentation such as applications, renewal forms, income support and military records, to verify taxpayer eligibility.