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NEWS from the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Contact: Press Office 518-474-4015

State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Audits

September 6, 2019

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today the following audits and examinations have been issued.

Department of Agriculture and Markets: Oversight of Weights and Measures Programs (Follow-Up) (2019-F-11)

An initial report, issued in December 2017, identified systemic issues with the quality of the data the department relies on to administer the state’s weights and measures program. In a follow-up, auditors found the department made significant progress addressing the problems identified in the initial audit. Of the four prior audit recommendations, two were implemented and two were partially implemented.

Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC): Oversight of Waste Tire Site Cleanup and Use of Waste Tire Fees (2018-S-43)

Auditors found DEC has made significant progress abating identified waste tire sites. Nearly 44 million tires (99 percent) were abated at 160 sites (86 percent) as of October 2018. Auditors also found about $5.1 million in expenses charged to the program that did not appear to be related to waste tire abatement or other waste management activities allowable under the law.

Department of Environmental Conservation: Report of Title V Operating Permit Program Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balance for the Eight Fiscal Years Ended March 31, 2017 (2017-S-81)

Program revenues were insufficient to cover program expenses, as required by the federal Clean Air Act and New York’s Clean Air Compliance Act. Program revenues decreased 38.8 percent during the period, while program expenses decreased 10.8 percent, resulting in a trend of increasing annual deficits.

Department of Health (DOH): Inappropriate Payments Related to Procedure Modifiers (Follow-Up) (2019-F-10)

An initial audit issued in April 2018 found that DOH incorrectly implemented claims processing system controls to prevent inappropriate payments for evaluation and management services, which resulted in Medicaid overpayments totaling about $2.6 million. In a follow-up, auditors found DOH made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial report, but no action has been taken to review and recover the inappropriate payments identified.

Department of Health (DOH): Medicaid Claims Processing Activity April 1, 2018 through Sept. 30, 2018 (2018-S-13)

Auditors identified over $134 million in Medicaid payments that require DOH’s prompt attention, including $123.9 million in Medicaid managed care premiums paid on behalf of 86,475 Medicaid recipients who had concurrent comprehensive third-party health insurance.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA): New York City Transit: Maintenance and Inspection of Event Recorder Units (2018-S-19)

Auditors found train car inspections were not always done on time. They determined that, of the 822 timed inspections during the audit period, 70 were late, exceeding the permitted time or mileage interval. For 129 inspections, maintenance personnel did not provide evidence that they downloaded information from event recorder units to ensure that they were functioning correctly, as required by the MTA’s transit unit’s work manuals.

Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD): Accountability and Surplussing of Vehicles (2018-S-42)

OPWDD lacks sufficient controls over fleet vehicle management at the four local Developmental Disabilities Services Offices (DDSOs) to ensure that all vehicles are properly accounted for, that vehicles are used for official state business only, and that DDSOs are properly surplussing vehicles following a process that is fair and complies with OGS requirements. Such deficiencies, which might largely be attributable to OPWDD’s lack of procedures and guidance, create an environment at risk of mismanagement and impropriety.

Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA): Compliance With Requirements to Maintain Systems at Vendor-Supported Levels (2019-S-6)

The authority must adhere to the State Information Security Policy which defines the minimum information security requirements that all state entities must follow to secure and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. Auditors found that, generally, RGRTA maintained its systems at vendor-supported levels. However, they did identify unsupported systems used by RGRTA on 14 devices.

State Education Department (SED): Children’s Unit for Treatment and Evaluation: Compliance with the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2018-S-47)

For the three fiscal years ended June 30, 2016, auditors identified $232,606 in reported costs that did not comply with SED’s requirements for reimbursement. These costs included $232,464 in parent agency administrative costs and $142 in consultant travel expenses.

State Education Department (SED): Early Childhood Learning Center of Greene County: Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2018-S-67)

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, auditors identified $12,843 in reported non-personal service costs that did not comply with SED’s requirements for reimbursement.

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