The Board and District officials did not properly manage fund balance and reserves. Officials' practices of appropriating fund balance and reserves that are not needed circumvents the statutory limit on surplus fund balance and lacks transparency.

The former Clerk did not properly account for, report, deposit, record and remit all collections to the appropriate parties in a timely and accurate manner. As a result of our audit and investigation, the former Clerk pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny and first-degree tampering with public records, and she agreed to pay $21,296 in restitution before sentencing. In August 2020, the former Clerk was sentenced to five years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service. The following conditions contributed to the theft of money and its concealment.

District officials did not establish adequate controls to prevent inappropriate, unnecessary and unauthorized software from being installed on District computers.

The County Clerk and Surrogate's Court are responsible for maintaining up-to-date and complete records for court and trust funds and abandoned property. Pursuant to New York State Finance Law Section 184, the Treasurer is required to submit a report on an annual basis to the State Comptroller accounting for all money, securities and other properties deposited to court and ordered into his custody.

Based on the results of our review, except for the item mentioned below, we found that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the 2023 proposed budget are reasonable.

The Board did not ensure the claims auditor was properly trained or had necessary access to District records for the claims auditor to effectively perform the Board's claims audit responsibilities. As a result, claims were not always adequately supported or properly audited before payment. For example, we reviewed 100 claims totaling $520,121 and found that claims totaling $122,184 were not properly audited or did not comply with the District's procurement policy.

District officials did not ensure that goods and services were procured in the most cost-efficient manner or provide adequate oversight of awarded contracts. As a result, the District could have paid more than necessary for goods and services.

Based on the results of our review of the 2023 proposed budget, we identified certain revenue and expenditure projections and other matters that should be reviewed by the Mayor and Council.

The Board and District officials did not always ensure claims were properly audited before payment. We reviewed 150 claims packets totaling $870,798 and found claims totaling $700,507 were not properly audited.

District officials did not properly monitor and account for 70 percent of fixed assets reviewed totaling $546,527. This can be attributed to District officials not following Board-adopted fixed asset policies.

Village officials did not ensure that employees were paid appropriately. As a result, for the limited periods that we reviewed, 11 (15 percent) of the Village's employees received erroneous compensation totaling $141,800.

District officials did not always ensure the facilities and transportation departments' goods and services were competitively procured.

The Board did not provide adequate oversight of the Company's financial operations. As a result, there is significant risk that Company money could be used inappropriately without detection.

The Board and District officials did not properly manage fund balance and all reserves.

Officials did not ensure students received all services from their individualized education programs (IEPs) or that all Medicaid-eligible services provided were properly filed for Medicaid reimbursements. If all services were provided and the Medicaid claims were properly filed, the District may have realized $10,107 in additional Medicaid reimbursements.

District officials did not adequately secure access to the network or properly manage user permissions in financial and student information applications.

District officials did not adequately manage network user accounts or develop a written IT contingency plan that details how District officials would respond to IT disruptions. As a result, officials had active but unneeded network user accounts that could be used as entry points for individuals to gain unauthorized access to the Districts IT systems, and the lack of comprehensive written IT contingency plan impairs the District's ability to recover from an unexpected IT disruption. In addition to finding sensitive IT control weaknesses that were confidentially communicated to officials.

District officials did not adequately manage or monitor nonstudent network user accounts or develop a written IT contingency plan. In addition to sensitive IT control weaknesses that were communicated confidentially to officials.

While we found online banking transactions were appropriate, District officials did not secure access to online banking. In addition to sensitive information technology (IT) control weaknesses that we confidentially communicated to District officials.

Aside from minor exceptions, disbursements were authorized, supported and for appropriate District purposes. However, the Board could improve oversight of and internal controls over disbursements.