New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government audits were issued.
Town of Danby – Town Clerk (Tompkins County)
Tax collections were missing and not deposited in an efficient manner. The clerk also did not identify tax collection account errors totaling $64,959 and could not account for approximately $1,000 in cash from tax collections. The board did not perform an annual audit of the clerk’s records.
Village of Delhi – Audit Follow-Up (Delaware County)
Auditors issued a report in January 2020 identifying areas of improvement related to disbursements, including payroll. In a follow-up review, auditors found the village has made progress in implementing a corrective action. Of the three audit recommendations, two recommendations were implemented, and one recommendation was partially implemented.
Town of Frankfort – Justice Court Operations (Herkimer County)
Justices did not provide adequate oversight of court financial activities. They did not prepare monthly bank reconciliations to ensure all collections were accurately accounted for and discrepancies could be properly identified. As a result, a former justice had a shortage of $3,593 that originated over five years ago and was not identified until after he left office. While the receipts tested were generally deposited intact, another former justice and a current justice’s receipts totaling $24,366 were not deposited timely.
Town of Stanford – Former Comptroller’s Records and Reports (Dutchess County)
The comptroller did not adequately perform her financial recordkeeping and reporting duties or provide the board with monthly financial reports. Auditors identified 88 checks totaling $361,088 that were inappropriately recorded in the general fund and paid from the general fund bank account, of which $214,871 were highway fund expenditures. $1,441,751 in transfers were recorded in the payroll fund cash account within the financial software during the audit period which was approximately $138,000 more than what was transferred in the payroll bank account. $48,000 in deposits and $40,560 in withdrawals in the health reimbursement account were never recorded in the financial system.
Town of Webb – Audit Follow-Up (Herkimer County)
Auditors issued a report in November 2018 identifying certain opportunities for improvement related to the collection of season passes and lift ticket revenues at the town-operated McCauley Mountain Ski Area for the town’s management’s review and consideration. Based upon a follow-up review, auditors found the town has made limited progress implementing corrective action. Of the five audit recommendations, two recommendations were partially implemented, two recommendations were not implemented, and one recommendation is no longer applicable.
City of Yonkers – Budget Review (Westchester County)
The purpose of the budget review was to determine whether the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the city’s proposed budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year are reasonable. The review found the city’s budget continues to rely on $124.4 million such as appropriated fund balance, one-time state funding, one-time federal funding and sale of property to finance operating expenditures, to balance its budget. It includes revenue estimates for income tax surcharge, sewer rents and metered water sales that may not be achievable. Our review found the city’s budget results in additional debt and interest costs because the cost of tax certiorari claims are bonded instead of being financed through the operating budget. The district’s budget has a budget gap of at least $7.4 million.
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