Audit Objective
Determine whether transfer station collections were adequately supported, recorded and remitted in a timely manner.
Key Findings
We determined that transfer station collections were remitted in a timely manner. However, they were not adequately supported or recorded. As a result, an increased risk exists for collections not to be properly accounted for and even lost, stolen or misappropriated without detection. For example:
- The amount of municipal waste collected, as recorded by the transfer station, was 238 tons less than the amount transported and invoiced by the hauling company, which equates to the Town of Hurley (Town) collecting approximately $51,800 less in fees than it should have for the collected waste.
- Over a more than two-year period, the former transfer station Manager’s (Manager) remittances to the Town Clerk (Clerk) exceeded the amounts recorded in the transfer station records by $14,600.
Additionally, the Town Board (Board) and Town officials adopted inadequate policies and developed written transfer station collection procedures that did not address segregation of incompatible duties with respect to safeguarding collections. For example, the Manager was responsible for performing incompatible duties, including collecting, recording and remitting transfer station collections to the Clerk.
Key Recommendations
The audit report includes six recommendations to help the Board, Town officials and the Manager improve their practices for transfer station collections.
Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.