New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government and school audits were issued.
Schenectady City School District – Math Workbook Inventory (Schenectady County)
District officials did not maintain adequate inventory records and ordered excessive quantities of workbooks. As a result, officials ordered 4,126 workbooks that cost $143,036, which were not needed. Officials did not maintain a comprehensive perpetual inventory of workbooks, nor did they perform annual inventory counts at year-end. As a result, officials were not aware of the large quantities of workbooks stored at the elementary schools. The district lacked an adequate inventory policy or written procedures on how workbooks should be accounted for and how the inventory should be monitored. Officials did not determine the district’s actual workbook need before workbooks were ordered.
Corning City School District – Claims Auditing (Steuben County)
The district’s claims auditor did not properly audit and approve all claims prior to payment. Auditors reviewed 100 claims totaling approximately $19.5 million and determined that: the claims auditor, who is an employee of the Greater Southern Tier Board of Cooperative Educational Services (GST BOCES), inappropriately audited 43 claims totaling approximately $16.1 million paid to GST BOCES. This compromised the claims auditor’s objectivity and independence. The school board should have audited these claims. The treasurer paid 18 claims for health insurance reimbursements and credit card purchases totaling approximately $1.7 million before they were properly audited. Auditors found 49 travel-related credit card charges totaling $28,555 did not include a pre-approval form or other supporting documentation.
Rockland County – Budget Review
State law authorizes the county to issue debt up to $96 million to liquidate the accumulated deficit in the county’s general fund as of Dec. 31, 2012. Additionally, the law requires the county to submit its proposed budget to the State Comptroller. The county legislature, no later than five days prior to the adoption of the budget, must review all recommendations made by the State Comptroller’s office, and adjust its proposed budget, consistent with any recommendations made. Auditors found that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the 2024 proposed budget are reasonable. The county’s proposed budget includes a tax levy of $141,791,700.
Brentwood Union Free School District – Information Technology (IT) (Suffolk County)
The board and district officials did not adequately monitor nonstudent network user accounts, provide IT security awareness training as required by a board-adopted policy or implement an IT contingency plan. As a result, the district’s computerized data was not adequately safeguarded. In addition, the district has an increased risk that the network may be accessed by unauthorized individuals, data will be lost, and the district may not be able to recover from a network disruption or disaster. Officials also did not disable 486 of the 3,525 enabled nonstudent network user accounts auditors reviewed and determined were not needed or establish written procedures for granting, changing and disabling network user account access.
North Tonawanda City School District – Information Technology (Niagara County)
District officials properly managed user account permissions in its financial application but did not properly secure user account access to the network or manage user account permissions in the student information application. As a result, there is a significant risk that network resources and student information could be inappropriately altered, accessed or used. In addition to sensitive IT control weaknesses that were communicated confidentially to officials, auditors found district officials did not disable 246 unnecessary network user accounts or properly manage permissions for 517 user accounts in the student information application by ensuring accounts were locked or disabled when an employee separated from the district.
City of Lockport – Budget Review (Niagara County)
Auditors found that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the proposed budget appear reasonable. However, auditors identified certain revenue and expenditure projections and other matters that should be reviewed. Officials significantly underestimated the amount of overtime incurred by the fire department in 2023, which will exceed the amount budgeted by approximately $440,000. The proposed 2024 budget includes overtime funding of $500,000 for the fire department, an increase of $250,000. If officials cannot reduce 2023 overtime expenditures, the 2024 budget appropriation for overtime will be insufficient.
Fine Fire District – Board Oversight (St. Lawrence County)
District officials did not adequately monitor financial activities or maintain appropriate records and reports. As a result, more taxes were levied than needed to fund operations each year and there was an increased risk for errors and irregularities. The board did not ensure that basic accounting records were maintained, that it received written financial reports to manage operations, or that the district’s required annual update documents were filed. The board also did not conduct an annual audit of the secretary-treasurer’s accounting records or hold required public hearings on the proposed 2022 and 2023 budgets or formally adopt the budgets, as required by state law. In addition, annual appropriations were overestimated by an average of $43,300, or 40%.
Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District – Payroll (Nassau County)
Auditors determined district officials accurately paid salaries and wages to 58 employees totaling $609,317 of the $127.3 million paid to 1,290 employees during the audit period. There were no recommendations as a result of this audit.