New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government and school audits were issued.

South Hornell Fire Protection Company, Inc. – Disbursements (Steuben County) 

The board did not ensure disbursements were supported, appropriate or authorized. Weak bylaws, policies and procedures, including debit card safeguards, meant limited oversight. Because the recording secretary generally did not record membership’s authorization of disbursements during monthly meetings in the meeting minutes, 300 disbursements totaling $297,853 lacked documented authorization. Auditors also found 63 disbursements totaling $126,012 that lacked sufficient support to determine appropriateness.

Town of Plattekill – Information Technology (IT) (Ulster County) 

The board and supervisor did not adequately manage user accounts or implement key IT controls. For example, unused accounts assigned to some former employees remained active for at least seven years. Officials did not adopt a breach notification policy, as required by law, and did not adopt an IT contingency plan for unexpected disruptions or disasters. Officials also did not enter into a written contract with the town’s IT service provider or require employees to take IT security awareness training. Other sensitive IT control weaknesses were communicated confidentially to officials.

Eagle Mills Fire District No.1 – Records and Reports (Rensselaer County) 

The board did not monitor financial activity or ensure required records and reports were maintained. The treasurer did not record annual budgets for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 into the central accounting system, necessary for generating statements of operations with budget-to-actual comparisons. The board also failed to have the required annual independent audit of the district’s books since fiscal year 2018. Lastly, the treasurer has not prepared or filed the fiscal year end 2019 through 2024 annual financial reports with DiNapoli’s office, as required by law.

Cicero Volunteer Fire Department – Financial Activities (Onondaga County) 

Officials did not ensure financial activity was properly recorded, reported or that funds were safeguarded. Auditors identified significant errors and unrecorded transactions. For example, the treasurer recorded $216,088 that was received for a building lease payment twice, which overstated the department’s cash and revenue. The treasurer also did not prepare accurate bank reconciliations, issue customer receipts for collections, and did not deposit collections in a timely manner. The treasurer also did not prepare and submit the annual report for foreign fire insurance tax proceeds to the board and membership and to DiNapoli’s office, as required by law.

Roosevelt Children’s Academy Charter School – Information Technology (Nassau County) 

Auditors found that school officials did not implement sufficient controls to protect IT systems and data from unauthorized access, use or loss. Procedures for managing and monitoring user accounts were not established, resulting in 51 unnecessary accounts remaining active. Officials also did not monitor employee internet use. Auditors reviewed internet histories of 14 school employee computers and determined that nine employees used the computers to access websites for personal use, including a user who conducted personal business activities. Lastly, the director of technology was unable to provide the documentation related to the monitoring of the IT vendor’s compliance with the consulting agreement.

Arkport Hose Company No. 1, Inc. – Treasurer (Steuben County) 

The executive committee lacked reliable information to manage the company’s financial activity because the treasurer did not properly deposit, record or report company funds. The treasurer did not deposit revenues totaling $5,191 in a company bank account within three days of receipt, as required by company bylaws. The treasurer also did not maintain adequate supporting documentation for 95 transactions totaling $55,100, accurately record 48 transactions totaling $21,528, or obtain approval for 37 disbursements totaling $15,951. In addition, the treasurer did not prepare bank reconciliations or provide adequate monthly or annual reports to the board and membership. Lastly, the treasurer did not file the annual form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service, putting the company’s not-for-profit status at risk.

Town of Clermont – Transparency of Fiscal Activities (Columbia County) 

Although the board conducted an audit of the supervisor’s financial records and reports for fiscal year 2024, the board did not maintain any supporting documentation to show the extent of the work performed or the results of the audit. The supervisor did not prepare and file the 2022 through 2024 annual financial reports with DiNapoli’s office, as required by law. Furthermore, the supervisor provided the board with incomplete monthly financial reports and did not ensure board-approved hourly rates were used to pay the highway department employees.

Budget Reviews

South Country Central School District – Budget Review (Suffolk County) 

Following the district’s Oct. 22, 2025 disclosure that an unplanned deficit occurred during the 2024-25 fiscal year, stakeholders requested DiNapoli’s office provide an independent review of the district’s finances. The district is on track to incur a 2025-26 fiscal year budget deficit of approximately $8.7 million due to inaccurate estimates in the adopted budget even after accounting for the cost-savings measures, including spending freezes and personnel layoffs. In addition, the district has no available surplus fund balance to mitigate this budgetary deficit. The district reported an unassigned general fund balance deficit of $1.8 million as of June 30, 2025. If current operating trends continue, auditors project the district will have a fiscal year-end deficit of approximately $10.5 million. Finally, district officials indicated the district will need to borrow $6 million to balance the 2026-27 budget. While deficit financing can provide immediate relief, any such borrowing would most likely increase the overall deficit and create future funding gaps due to the district’s reliance on debt to pay for operating expenses.

Wyandanch Union Free School District – Budget Review (Suffolk County) 

State law as of 2020 authorizes the district to issue serial bonds in an amount not to exceed $4.5 million to liquidate the accumulated deficit in the district’s general fund as of June 30, 2019. Municipalities and school districts that have been authorized to issue obligations to fund operating deficits are required by law to submit their budget to the State Comptroller each year. Auditors determined that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the district’s proposed budget are reasonable and that the district’s proposed budget complies with the tax levy limit. The budget review did not include any recommendations.

Village of Suffern – Budget Review (Rockland County) 

State law authorizes the village to issue debt not to exceed $5 million to liquidate the accumulated deficits in the village’s general, water, sewer and capital projects funds as of May 31, 2015. Auditors determined that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the tentative budget are reasonable, and that the village’s tentative budget complies with the tax levy limit.