New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of Village of Massapequa Park, Orange County, Pine City Fire District No. 1, Town of Porter, Putnam County, Village of Stillwater, Town of Union Vale, Town of Waterloo and the City of Watertown.
"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."
Village of Massapequa Park – Claims Audit and Leave Accruals (Nassau County)
The board reviews and approves the abstracts without auditing the individual claims. While villages are legally authorized to pay certain claims in advance of audit, 10 of 18 claims totaling $163,725 were not authorized for such payment. Village officials ensured that leave accruals and payments were recorded and calculated accurately.
Orange County – Court and Trust (2017M-225)
Records maintained by the county clerk and surrogate's court were up-to-date and complete, with no material discrepancies. The commissioner established adequate procedures, maintained appropriate records and properly reported court and trust funds and abandoned property.
Pine City Fire District No. 1 – Board Oversight (Chemung County)
Board members have not provided adequate financial oversight. The board did not audit district claims, and even though the financial duties are concentrated with the treasurer, the board did not receive or review bank statements or cancelled check images, review bank reconciliations or perform an annual audit of the treasurer's records to ensure the accuracy of the monthly financial reports.
Town of Porter – Sewer Billings to Fort Niagara State Park (Niagara County)
The town did not follow the contract provisions when it billed the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for operation/maintenance and debt service costs for the system. The town billed the department for certain debt service costs in a manner that appears to be inconsistent with the contract. Auditors estimate the department was inaccurately billed by approximately $152,900.
Putnam County – Court and Trust (2017M-221)
Records maintained by the county clerk and surrogate's court were up-to-date and complete, with no material discrepancies. The commissioner established adequate procedures, maintained appropriate records and properly reported court and trust funds and abandoned property.
Village of Stillwater – Capital Project and Settlement Award Accounting (Saratoga County)
The clerk-treasurer did not provide budget-to-actual reports of revenues and expenditures or project balances for assets and liabilities to the board, and although budget amendments were authorized by the mayor, they were not authorized by the board. The clerk-treasurer accounted for water fund transactions in the general fund instead of the water fund.
Town of Union Vale – Procurement and Information Technology (Dutchess County)
Eight professional service providers were paid $178,027 and 25 vendors were paid $353,418 without seeking competition. The board did not properly authorize credit card purchases. In addition, the board did not establish an internet-use policy or a breach notification policy.
Town of Waterloo – Board Oversight (Seneca County)
The calculations for separation payments made to two employees during the audit period were incorrect, resulting in inappropriate payments totaling $1,271 for additional leave accruals that were not earned. The town also paid $17,500 to a retiring employee to cover the subsequent year's health insurance premiums, with no documented board approval. Additionally, separation payments totaling $50,128 were paid from an "Employee Benefit Reserve" in 2016, which was not appropriately established.
City of Watertown – Information Technology (Jefferson County)
The council has not adopted adequate information technology security policies and city officials do not have formal procedures to address disaster recovery, disposal of electronic devices, data back up and password security management.
For access to state and local government spending, public authority financial data and information on 140,000 state contracts, visit Open Book New York. The easy-to-use website was created to promote transparency in government and provide taxpayers with better access to financial data.