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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

December 4, 2018

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced his office completed audits of the City of Binghamton, Village of Depew, Village of Millbrook, City of New Rochelle, Suffolk County Community College, Village of Trumansburg and the Town of Webb.

"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."

City of Binghamton – Water System Cybersecurity (Broome County)

The city does not adequately safeguard electronic access to the water system. Also, the city has not established a formal process for staying current on system cybersecurity threats. Water plant officials do not receive alerts to such threats from key sources, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

Village of Depew – Purchasing (Erie County)

Of the 59 purchases examined totaling approximately $1.4 million, auditors found 17 purchases totaling approximately $124,000 showed no evidence quotes were obtained. Auditors also examined 12 payments totaling approximately $938,600 that were subject to competitive bidding requirements and found that all payments complied with competitive bidding.

Village of Millbrook – Financial Operations and Procurement (Dutchess County)

Village officials did not seek competition for 15 professional service providers paid almost $1.3 million. The board did not obtain bids as required for four purchases totaling $265,429. Also, village officials did not maintain documentation for $317,988 of restricted donations.

City of New Rochelle – Elevator Inspections (Westchester County)

The city does not have an adequate system to identify, track and monitor elevators and related equipment subject to inspection and testing requirements. Although the city maintains a master list of 226 properties with elevators and related equipment, the list is incomplete and inaccurate. Auditors found 75 of 85 property owners did not submit either six month or annual inspection reports, as required.

Suffolk County Community College – Information Technology (2018M-130)

Although the board adopted a policy for managing access to the network and the information system, college officials did not enforce the policy. The college has 824 network user accounts that do not match current employees and have not been used within the last six months. In addition, employees responsible for safeguarding the college website are not required to attend cybersecurity training.

Village of Trumansburg – Ambulance Fund Accountability (Tompkins County)

Village officials did not ensure that money received for ambulance services was properly recorded, reported and disbursed. As a result, the village had a $16,100 unidentified cash balance in the ambulance fund. The unidentified balance resulted from an accumulation of errors since the ambulance fund’s inception in December 2011.

Town of Webb – Financial Operations and Ambulance Services (Herkimer County)

From 2013 through 2017, the town accumulated excessive fund balances in the general, highway, water district and sewer district funds. The board has not adopted a fund balance policy that addresses reasonable levels of fund balance to be maintained in each fund. In addition, town officials have not developed comprehensive, written multiyear financial and capital plans. Also, the board did not adequately segregate cash disbursement duties or implement compensating controls to ensure that one employee does not control all phases of a transaction.

Town of Webb – Ski Collections (Herkimer County)

The town, which operates the McCauley Mountain Ski Area, has not developed policies or procedures for how ski collections should be recorded, deposited and reconciled. Officials have not developed a process to compare the number of printed season passes with the number sold as recorded in the point-of-sale system.

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