Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to assess the controls over the County’s vehicle fleet operations for the period January 1, 2013 through August 15, 2014.

Background

Delaware County is located in eastern New York State and has a population of approximately 48,000. The County is governed by an elected 19-member Board of Supervisors. Budgeted appropriations for 2014 were approximately $129.6 million.

Key Findings

• Although the Board-adopted vehicle policy specifies that each department head is responsible for establishing written procedures for the assignment of County vehicles, five of the six departments that we reviewed did not have written procedures.
• County officials did not perform cost-benefit analyses to support the after-hours locations of vehicles or disposal methods used.
• None of the six departments adequately monitored vehicle usage.

Key Recommendations

• Amend the vehicle policy to clearly specify which employee positions or criteria should be used to assign a County vehicle.
• Thoroughly evaluate the cost-effectiveness of keeping County vehicles at off-site locations and each disposal method prior to the disposal of any County vehicles.
• Maintain and review vehicle logs, monitor fuel consumption and develop written assignment procedures for the usage of County vehicles.