Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the Board’s financial management and evaluate the operations and financial practices of the Clerk’s office for the period of January 1, 2012 through November 1, 2013.

Background

The Town of Hornellsville is located in Steuben County and has a population of approximately 4,200 residents. The Town is governed by an elected five-member Town Board. The Town’s budgeted appropriations for the 2013 fiscal year totaled $1.8 million.

Key Findings

• Repeated appropriation of fund balance drove the year-end total of unassigned funds to dangerously low levels, leaving the Town with an insufficient financial cushion for unforeseen events or cash flow.
• The Board has not developed a written multiyear financial plan to identify, prioritize and strategically address future financial issues.
• The Clerk did not deposit money intact or in a timely manner.

Key Recommendations

• Address the declining fund balances in the town-wide and town-outside-village operating funds and adopt structurally balanced budgets with less dependence on using fund balance to finance operations.
• Develop a comprehensive multiyear financial plan to establish the goals and objectives for funding long-term operating needs.
• Deposit all moneys in a timely manner and intact.