[read complete report – pdf] 

Audit Objective 

Determine whether the Town of Exeter (Town) Town Clerk/ Tax Collector (Clerk) recorded, deposited and remitted collections accurately and in a timely manner. 

Key Findings 

The Clerk generally recorded collections accurately and deposited and remitted Clerk fees in a timely manner. However, the Clerk did not always deposit real property taxes in a timely manner and did not remit these collections to the Supervisor in a timely manner. Specifically, the Clerk did not: 

• Deposit 39 real property tax collections, totaling $505,197, within 24 hours of the date recorded as collected, without indication of the actual date of receipt. 
• Remit real property taxes to the Town Supervisor (Supervisor) on a weekly basis, as required by New York State Town Law (Town Law) Section 35. Instead, the Clerk made annual remittances in February, which kept the money from being productively used or invested to earn additional revenue. 
• Complete bank reconciliations and an accountability analysis by preparing a list of liabilities and comparing it to reconciled bank balances and money on hand. 
• Provide the Board with her records for audit, as required by Town Law Section 123. 

The issues identified may have been detected if the Clerk presented her accounting records to the Board and the Board conducted the required annual audit of the Clerk’s records. 

Key Recommendations 

• Deposit real property taxes within 24 hours and remit them to the Supervisor weekly. 
• Perform bank reconciliations and accountabilities, and provide records to the Board for audit. 

Town officials agreed with our recommendations and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.