Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review the Town’s budgeting practices for the period January 1, 2011 through July 31, 2014.

Background

The Town of Minden is located in Montgomery County and includes the Village of Fort Plain within its boundaries. The Town, which is governed by an elected five-member Town Board, has a population of approximately 4,300. Budgeted appropriations for 2014 totaled approximately $1.8 million.

Key Findings

• The Town improperly allocated portions of its sales tax revenue to the town-wide general fund without first eliminating the tax levies in the part-town funds (those that exclude the Village), contrary to statutory requirements.
• The Town consistently adopted budgets with unrealistic estimates of revenues and expenditures in the part-town highway fund.

Key Recommendations

• Budget and allocate sales tax revenues in compliance with statute and seek legal counsel to determine what remedies are available to address the $398,000 in taxpayer inequities due to the improper allocation of sales tax revenues from 2011-13.
• Adopt part-town highway fund budgets with realistic estimates of revenues and expenditures.