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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 4, 2015

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Brookhaven Fire District, Fair Haven Volunteer Fire Department, Town of Ira and the Lake View 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.”

Brookhaven Fire District – Procurement and Information Technology (Suffolk County)

District officials paid 27 invoices totaling $83,370 for purchases without obtaining any type of competition. The district also did not seek competition when selecting four professional service providers who received payments totaling $155,865. In addition, the board has not implemented policies that address remote access to the district’s financial system.

Fair Haven Volunteer Fire Department – Board Oversight (Cayuga County)

The treasurer receives all department funds, prepares and makes all deposits, pays department bills and performs all recordkeeping functions, including bank reconciliations, with little or no board oversight. In addition, the treasurer did not always obtain approval prior to transferring funds in the department’s bank accounts as required.

Town of Ira – Financial Management (Cayuga County)

The board has not developed policies and procedures to govern budgeting practices and the level of unexpended surplus funds, resulting in a significant amount of unexpended surplus funds in the town’s operating funds. Further, the board did not develop comprehensive multiyear financial and capital plans.

Lake View Fire District – Controls Over Financial Activity (Erie County)

While all the disbursements reviewed were properly recorded on board-approved abstracts, the board does not conduct a comprehensive audit of each claim as required. Auditors also found credit card claims were not always supported with adequate documentation.

For access to state and local government spending and 50,000 state contracts, visit OpenBookNY. 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.