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

State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal Audits

October 5, 2016

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the Altona Volunteer Fire Company, Inc., City of Gloversville, City of Jamestown and the Town of Warwarsing.

“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.”

Altona Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. – Financial Operations (Clinton County)

Company officials did not establish adequate controls or provide sufficient oversight of financial activities. Consequently, the company’s accounting records were not properly maintained, bank reconciliations were not prepared and crucial financial reports were inaccurate or not prepared and submitted to company officials or to the comptroller’s office.

City of Gloversville – Parking Violation Operations (Fulton County)

City officials have not established sufficient procedures for pursuing the collection of unpaid parking violations or set a benchmark for collection rates. The city collected $110,000 in revenues for 4,367 violations from January 2011 through April 2016, which represents 61 percent of total parking violations. The city could have collected an additional 1,757 parking violations totaling approximately $44,000 if it collected fines for 85 percent of the parking violation tickets issued. If the city collects the additional 24 percent of parking violations that are still outstanding, dating back to January 2011, the city could receive approximately $83,000 in additional revenue.

City of Jamestown – Financial Condition (Chautauqua County)

The city incurred operating deficits in fiscal years 2012 through 2015 totaling $2.8 million. As a result, general fund balance decreased by approximately 58 percent, from $4.8 million to $2 million. The city’s financial condition will continue to decline during 2016 because the adopted budget is again not structurally balanced. The city will likely incur an operating deficit of at least $400,000 unless significant and immediate spending changes are implemented.

Town of Warwarsing – Napanoch Water District Rents and Assessments (Ulster County)

The board needs to improve its internal controls over water rents to ensure that they are accurately billed and collected and assessments are properly levied. Auditors found that internal controls over water rents and assessments were inadequate and oversight is lacking. Because town officials were uncertain of district boundaries, assessments were not levied on all properties in the district. As a result, assessments charged to district property owners were higher than necessary.

For access to state and local government spending and 50,000 state contracts, visit OpenBookNY. The easy-to-use website was created by Comptroller DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.