Town of Summit – Town Clerk (2024M-51)

Issued Date
August 16, 2024

 [read complete report – pdf]

Audit Objective 

Determine whether the Town of Summit (Town) Clerk properly recorded, deposited and remitted clerk fees in timely manner.

Key Findings 

Although fees were properly recorded, the Town Clerk (Clerk) did not always deposit or remit fees in a timely manner. Specifically, the Clerk: 

  • Did not deposit in a timely manner 98 percent of the fees collected in accordance with New York State (NYS) Town Law (Town Law) Section 30 which required the Clerk to deposit all fees collected within three business days after total collections exceed $250.
  • Did not remit in a timely manner $6,000 to the Town Supervisor (Supervisor) and certain NYS agencies in accordance with Town Law Section 27 which required the Clerk to remit fees collected on or before the 15th of the month following the date of collection.
  • Did not perform monthly bank reconciliations or accountability analyses during our audit period. These procedures serve to document the status of money held by the clerk and enable the clerk to verify the accuracy of financial records and ensure that assets are sufficient to meet liabilities.

Key Recommendations 

  • Deposit and remit all fees within the required time frames.
  • Prepare bank reconciliations and accountability analyses, whereby known liabilities are reconciled to available cash.

Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they have taken corrective action.