Audit Objective
Determine whether the Town of Butler (Town) Board (Board) effectively managed the Town’s town-wide and town-outside-village (TOV) fund balances.
Key Findings
The Board did not effectively manage the Town’s fund balances. As a result, officials maintained an excessive unrestricted fund balance in the townwide and TOV funds. As of December 31, 2023, the funds had a combined total of $1.5 million, equaling 64 and 138 percent of each fund’s upcoming year’s budgeted appropriations.
The Board also adopted unrealistic budgets by consistently underestimating revenues and overestimating expenditures for the town-wide and TOV funds from 2021 through 2023. Furthermore, the Board did not adopt a comprehensive financial plan, reserve policy or an effective fund balance policy. As a result, the Board’s ability to properly manage the Town’s fund balance was impaired.
The audit also identified a $250,000 encumbrance for a plow truck that was not recorded in the accounting records or reported on the 2023 Annual Financial Report (AFR), required to be filed with the Office of the New York State Comptroller (OSC).
Key Recommendations
The audit report includes eight recommendations to help improve the Town’s financial management. Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and have initiated or indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.