Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to assess the controls over retiree health insurance contributions for the period July 1, 2014 through January 5, 2016.

Background

The Union Springs Central School District is located in the Towns Springport, Aurelius, Fleming, Scipio and Ledyard and Villages of Union Springs and Cayuga in Cayuga County. The District, which operates three schools with approximately 817 students, is governed by an elected nine-member Board of Education. Budgeted appropriations for the 2015-16 fiscal year were $17.8 million.

Key Finding

• The account clerk reviews the obituaries and if a retiree is identified as deceased, the secretary contacts any dependents. However, if the spouse of a deceased retiree continues to make payments and does not inform the District of the change, the District will pay more than it should for the insurance coverage.

Key Recommendation

• Enhance procedures to monitor the status of all retirees and their spouses/dependents receiving health insurance coverage. Such procedures could include regularly contacting all retirees by phone or mail to obtain updates of their contact and eligibility information and comparing enrollees’ Social Security numbers against the Social Security Administration database.