Audit Objective 

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

Key Findings 

The Clerk generally recorded and reported collections accurately; however, the Clerk did not deposit and remit clerk fees and tax collections in a timely manner. In addition, the Town Board (Board) did not conduct the required annual audit of the Clerk’s records and reports. As a result, the Board’s ability to effectively monitor the Clerk’s financial operations was diminished, and there was an increased risk that collections could have been lost or stolen. The Clerk did not: 

• Deposit 54 clerk fees totaling $3,726, and 28 out of 50 tax collections tested totaling $69,975 in a timely manner or in accordance with New York State Town Law (Town Law) Section 30 that requires fees over $250 to be deposited within three days of receipt or Town Law Section 35 that requires tax collections to be deposited within 24 hours.
• Remit real property tax collections and clerk fees to the Town Supervisor (Supervisor) and County Treasurer (Treasurer) within the required time frames set forth in Town Law Sections 27 and 35.
• Remit $2,387 in penalties and interest to the Supervisor or identify and correct a $2,406 erroneous refund that was issued.

Key Recommendations 

Deposit and remit all collections within the required time frames; recover refunded funds and remit the outstanding penalty payment to the Supervisor; and conduct an annual audit of the Clerk’s records and reports.

District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and have initiated or indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.