Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine internal controls over water rents in the Napanoch Water District for the period January 1, 2014 through June 10, 2015.

Background

The Town of Wawarsing is located in Ulster County. The Town, which has approximately 13,000 residents, is governed by an elected five-member Town Board. Metered water revenue for the Town’s Napanoch Water District, which provides water service to approximately 448 customers, totaled $201,621 for 2015.

Key Findings

• Because Town officials were uncertain of District boundaries, ad valorem assessments were not levied on all properties within the District.
• We found that some meters were broken and had not been operating or repaired since March 2011.
• The Board did not establish procedures to provide guidance to the clerk or adequately segregate the clerk’s duties.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure that District boundaries are determined and documented on a map and that all District properties are charged ad valorem assessments.
• Ensure that broken meters are repaired.
• Establish procedures to ensure the water billing and collecting process has adequate controls to safeguard funds, such as segregating the billing, collecting and depositing duties, when feasible and having someone independent from the billing function review the water bills for accuracy before they are sent to customers.