The Board appropriated fund balance that was not needed to fund operations and was not transparent when funding reserves.

The Board did not adopt realistic budgets or monitor and effectively manage fund balance.

The Board and officials did not properly approve and monitor projects. Therefore, the Board could not effectively evaluate projects or hold project owners accountable.

The Supervisor did not maintain accurate accounting records and reports, and the Board could improve its oversight of financial operations.

Certain compensation paid to District administrators and business office personnel was inaccurate and/or did not have proper supporting documentation.

BOCES officials did not ensure network access and IT assets were properly safeguarded from unauthorized use, access and loss. In addition, sensitive IT control weaknesses were communicated confidentially to officials.

The Board and District officials did not effectively manage the District's financial condition. As a result, the District levied more taxes than needed to fund operations.

District officials did not comply with statutory requirements or the District's procurement policy when purchasing goods and services. Also, claims did not have adequate supporting documentation and were not properly audited before they were paid.

We issued a report in May 2019 identifying certain conditions and opportunities related to cash receipts and disbursements for the Department management's review and consideration. Our audit included recommendations for the following findings: rental payments, disbursements made by the Treasurer and collections from the clothing organization, ambulance corporation and fundraising activities. To further our policy of providing assistance to local governments, we revisited the Department on February 22, 2022 to review progress in implementing our recommendations. Our follow-up review was limited to interviews with Department personnel and inspection of certain documents related to the issues identified in our report. Based on our limited procedures, it appears that the Department has made limited progress implementing corrective action. Of the 10 audit recommendations, one recommendation was implemented, three recommendations were partially implemented, and six recommendations were not implemented.

The Board and District officials did not properly manage fund balance and reserve funds.

Claims we reviewed were supported and for appropriate BOCES purposes. However, all claims were not audited or approved prior to payment. As a result, BOCES has a higher risk of inaccurate or improper payments occurring.

The Board did not provide adequate oversight of financial operations.

District officials did not ensure network user accounts were adequately managed. In addition to sensitive information technology (IT) control weaknesses which we communicated confidentially to officials.

The Board did not establish adequate controls over financial activities to safeguard assets.

We could not determine whether swim program fees totaling $21,843 were properly accounted for or remitted in a timely manner because the Clerks did not maintain adequate accounting records. While the Clerks generally recorded, deposited and reported the Clerk fees, water rents and certain recreational fees we reviewed totaling $241,136 accurately, they did not always make remittances in a timely manner.

The Trustee and Treasurer did not demonstrate effective financial management.

Officials, faced with remote and hybrid learning challenges, did not always ensure students received services in accordance with their individualized education programs (IEPs) and did not ensure that all Medicaid-eligible claims were submitted and reimbursed.

District officials did not always seek competition for the purchase of goods and services not subject to competitive bidding. As a result, goods and services may not have been procured economically and in the best interest of taxpayers. We reviewed 30 purchases totaling $200,012 and expenditures for five professional service vendors totaling $171,446.

The Board did not always ensure that competition was sought in accordance with the procurement policies and procedures and competitive purchasing requirements. We examined purchases totaling $2.1 million, more than $586,000 was not competitively procured.

The Board ensured disbursements were supported and approved.