Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the Town’s financial condition for the period January 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014.

Background

The Town of Pierrepont, which is governed by a five-member Town Board, is located in St. Lawrence County and has a population of approximately 2,600. Budgeted appropriations for 2014 are approximately $572,000 for the general fund and $1.17 million for the highway fund.

Key Findings

• The Board did not have a policy that establishes a reasonable amount of unrestricted, unappropriated fund balance to be maintained.
• The Board has appropriated more fund balance than it had available in its budgets, resulting in unrestricted, unappropriated fund deficits.
• The Board has not developed a comprehensive multiyear financial and capital plan.

Key Recommendations

• Adopt a policy setting forth reasonable amounts of unrestricted, unappropriated fund balance to maintain.
• Review estimates of fund balance at year-end and appropriate only fund balance that is actually available to finance operations in ensuing years’ budgets.
• Develop a comprehensive multiyear financial and capital plan.