Town of Cochecton - Fund Balance Management and Multiyear Planning (2018M-208)

Issued Date
February 15, 2019

[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the Board effectively managed fund balances and reserves for the general, highway and sewer district funds and has multiyear financial and capital plans.

Key Findings

  • We project that 2018 sewer district expenditures will exceed the amounts budgeted by 41 percent and the fund will end 2018 with a budgetary deficiency of $40,000. As a result, the sewer district will require advances from the general fund totaling at least $41,506 to fund operations through year-end.
  • Although the Board has not developed a formal written fund balance and reserve policy or comprehensive multiyear financial and capital plans for any of the three operating funds, it used available fund balance and reserves, as appropriate, to avoid issuing debt to fund operations.

Key Recommendations

  • Continue to adjust user charges in the sewer district as needed to enable the fund to become self-sufficient.
  • Establish a plan for the sewer district to repay the general fund advances.
  • Develop and adopt comprehensive multiyear financial and capital plans and a fund balance and reserve fund policy.

Town officials agreed with our recommendations and have initiated or indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.