Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the Town’s property tax exemption process for the period January 1, 2015 through August 2, 2016.

Background

The Town of Chester is in Orange County and has a population of approximately 12,000. The Town Board is composed of the Town Supervisor and four Board members. Budgeted appropriations for 2016 total approximately $11.4 million.

Key Findings

• The Assessor did not properly grant and monitor property tax exemptions and did not have the proper documentation to support the exemptions for some properties.
• The Board did not establish, by local law or resolution, all the required exemptions.

Key Recommendations

• Review all exemptions to verify that they are accurate and to verify that all necessary supporting documentation is maintained.
• Review all exemption types and authorize by resolution only those the Board wants to continue to allow.