New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed an audit of the Town of Berlin, Dunham Public Library, Town of Galen, Town of Huron, Town of Inlet, Village of Johnson City, Lake Ronkonkoma Fire District, Town of Louisville, Town of Princetown and the Town of Virgil.
“In today’s fiscal climate, budget transparency and accountability for our local communities is a top priority,” said DiNapoli. “By auditing municipal finances and operations, my office continues to provide taxpayers the assurance that their money is being spent appropriately and effectively.”
Town of Berlin – Internal Controls Over Water District No. 2 Operations (Rensselaer County)
The board did not approve water billings or customer account adjustments or perform an annual audit of the clerk’s records and reports. In addition, the duties related to billings, collections and record keeping were not adequately segregated.
Dunham Public Library – Claims Processing (Oneida County)
The board did not audit and approve any claims during the audit period. In addition, the clerk did not provide the board with an abstract listing each sequentially numbered claim, documenting the vendor or claim amount.
Town of Galen – Financial Management (Wayne County)
The board does not provide adequate oversight and management of the town’s finances. The board has not established a budgeting policy and did not create a comprehensive, multiyear financial or capital plan.
Town of Huron – Financial Management (Wayne County)
Town officials have not developed multiyear financial plans, policies or procedures to establish financial goals and govern budgeting practices and the level of unrestricted unappropriated fund balance to maintain. The board has routinely adopted budgets with unrealistic estimates, which resulted in the accumulation of surplus funds and higher tax levies than necessary.
Town of Inlet – Capital Project Accounting and Internal Controls Over Cottage Rental Receipts (Hamilton County)
The town has not maintained separate accounting records for a $4.1 million capital project to construct a waste water treatment plant and sewer district. The board did not establish an adequate receipt process to ensure that the town clerk recorded and deposited money collected for cottage rentals in an accurate and timely manner
Village of Johnson City – Oversight of Justice Court Operations (Broome County)
The board and justices did not provide adequate oversight of court operations to ensure that cash receipts were properly collected, accounted for and deposited, and disbursements were for proper court purposes. As a result, there were 819 unpaid parking tickets, totaling $27,301 for the audit period. The court also had up to $1.1 million of unpaid parking tickets dating back to 1986.
Lake Ronkonkoma Fire District – Bidding and Treasurer’s Office (Suffolk County)
District officials did not consistently adhere to bidding or competitive offering requirements when purchases exceeded the statutory bidding threshold. The board did not ensure that the treasurer properly accounted for cash collected. Also, the board did not ensure that the duties within the treasurer’s office were adequately segregated and did not implement compensating controls.
Town of Louisville – Water User Charges (St. Lawrence County)
The board did not adequately segregate financial duties or provide sufficient oversight of billing, collecting and recording of water payments and adjustments to customer accounts.
Town of Princetown – Claims Auditing (Schenectady County)
Auditors found the town’s payment vouchers contained adequate supporting documentation and evidence that the goods or services were received and the vouchers were for legitimate town purposes.
Town of Virgil – Board Oversight (Cortland County)
The board did not provide adequate oversight of the town’s financial operations and officials did not ensure adequate controls were in place over the billing and collecting of water and sewer rents. In addition, the town did not properly account for 6,600 gallons of purchased fuel.