FOR RELEASE:

Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal Audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed the audits of the Town of Carrollton, Town of New Scotland and the Town of Woodstock.

"My office's audits of local governments improve their financial management practices," DiNapoli said. "These audits are tools for local officials to make sure proper policies and procedures are in place to protect taxpayer dollars and provide the best possible service these taxpayer dollars can deliver."

Town of Carrollton – Internal Controls Over Selected Financial Activities (Cattaraugus County)
The town board failed to prevent the town supervisor from using town resources for his personal benefit, which cost the town nearly $15,000. Internal controls over cash receipts in the clerk's office were not appropriately designed or operating effectively, which resulted in an apparent shortage of $3,405. The town's 2012 adopted budget includes a tax levy of $332,312, which exceeds the allowable tax levy of by $8,327.

Town of New Scotland – Internal Controls Over Transfer Station Collections (Albany County)
The town board has not adopted cash collection policies and procedures for operations of the transfer station. Prior to August 2011, there was no inventory of duplicate receipts issued, receipt numbers were not tracked, and reconciliations were not performed. Similarly, the issuance of permit stock was not documented, and there was no inventory of permits on hand, issued and sold. The town should improve controls over cash collections, the inventory of cash receipts and permits, and the physical security of unused receipts and permits.

Town of Woodstock – Financial Activities and Information Technology (Ulster County)
The town did not always use competitive methods when purchasing goods and services. Auditors tested six purchases amounting to $252,611 that required competitive bidding and found that five purchases totaling approximately $164,000 had not been competitively bid. In addition, town officials have not established adequate internal controls to effectively safeguard the town's computer system and data.