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NEWS from the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Contact: Press Office 518-474-4015

Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal Audits

March 13, 2014

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Town of Bolivar, Circleville Fire District, Town of Clarendon, Cohoes Housing Authority, Town of Covington and the Gardiner Fire District.

“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 Bolivar – Community Development Block Grant (Allegany County)

The town board did not develop or implement procedures to track Community Development Block Grant funding. Auditors found that the town did not document how grant funds were spent and failed to ensure the intended objectives and outcomes were accomplished.

Circleville Fire District – Board Oversight (Orange County)

Officials did not establish adequate internal controls or provide sufficient oversight of the district’s financial operations. The treasurer performed online transactions without board oversight and bypassed established internal controls over cash disbursements. In addition, credit card charges were not itemized and receipts were not provided to show that purchases were for valid district expenditures.

Town of Clarendon – Justice Court Operations (Orleans County)

The town justices have established adequate processes and procedures for the court’s financial operations. The court clerk collects cash receipts, records entries in the accounting system and prepares deposits. Also, the justices review the deposits to ensure they are accurate and that all receipts are accounted for prior to depositing the receipts.

Cohoes Housing Authority – Internal Controls Over Payroll (Albany County)

There is inadequate oversight of the authority’s payroll processing and accounting for leave accruals. The office administrator performed all payroll functions with little or no supervision. Also, the timekeeping system used to record employees’ time worked does not accurately capture the hours worked.

Town of Covington – Town Supervisor (Wyoming County)

The supervisor did not properly maintain the town’s accounting records. Auditors found the supervisor did not submit adequate monthly financial reports to the board and the board did not perform an annual audit of the supervisor’s records and reports.

Gardiner Fire District – Length of Service Award Program (Ulster County)

District officials did not implement standards and procedures ensuring that records of activities performed under the defined benefit Length of Service Award Program point system were accurate and complete. Because of these deficiencies, the district may have paid for benefits that were not legitimately earned and participants might not have received the service credit to which they were entitled.

For access to state and local government spending and more than 50,000 state contracts, visit http://www.openbooknewyork.com/. The easy-to-use website was created by Comptroller DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.