Town of Glen - Water and Sewer Operations (2023M-167)

Issued Date
March 29, 2024

Audit Objective 

Determine whether the Town of Glen (Town) officials properly managed water and sewer fund financial operations. 

Key Findings 

Town officials did not properly manage water and sewer fund financial operations. The Board did not adopt the water and sewer rates that were charged to customers or audit the Clerk’s records and water and sewer bills and meter readings were not independently reviewed for accuracy. As a result, officials and customers have no assurance that water and sewer bills and account balances are accurate. 

  • Of the 306 bills we reviewed, 73 (24 percent) were inaccurate because the Clerk made mathematical errors totaling $30,258 and did not record customer payments in a timely manner and accurately. 
  • The Clerk made 12 unsupported adjustments totaling $1,981 to 4 customer accounts without any review or approval. 
  • The bookkeeper did not record amounts billed totaling $592,956 for water and sewer services in the accounting records and sewer revenue was overstated by $152,023 as of December 31, 2022. 

Key Recommendations 

  • Ensure the Board adopts the water and sewer rates.
  • Request and review monthly billing reports and review and approve all adjustments made to customer accounts. 
  • Record payments in a timely manner, maintain control accounts and periodically reconcile control accounts with billing records. 

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