Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the internal controls over selected Town operations for the period January 1, 2011, to May 31, 2012.

Background

The Town of Bangor is located in Franklin County and has approximately 2,220 residents. The Town is governed by an elected five-member Town Board (Board), which consists of the Town Supervisor and four council members. The Board appoints a Code Enforcement Officer and a Dog Control Officer. The Town’s budgeted appropriations for the 2012 fiscal year are approximately $981,500, funded primarily with real property taxes.

Key Findings

• The Board is not providing adequate oversight of the Dog Control Officer and Code Enforcement Officer. The Board did not require the Officers to remit the fees they collected to the Town. Instead, it approved both Officers to retain fees collected on the Town’s behalf which circumvented Town Law.
• The Board gave both Officers approval to open and maintain bank accounts for cash collections and disbursements for their respective operations with no Board oversight.
• The Board’s review of claims was inadequate, resulting in claims being paid prior to Board audit and approval, certain claims lacking adequate supporting documentation and payments for goods and services that were not for appropriate Town purposes.
• The Board did not audit the records of the Supervisor, Town Clerk, Dog Control Officer and Code Enforcement Officer.

Key Recommendations

• Assign duties and responsibilities to Town officers and employees that are in compliance with laws and regulations. Town officers and employees should remit all fees and collections to the Supervisor by the 15th of the following month that collections were received.
• Maintain custody of all Town bank accounts.
• Conduct a thorough and deliberate audit of the claims for payment against the Town.
• Conduct an annual audit of the records and reports of all Town officers and employees who received or disbursed money during the preceding fiscal year or hire an accountant to conduct the audits.