Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to determine whether the Village properly recorded capital project activity for the period June 1, 2006, to October 12, 2012.

Background

The Village of Depew is located in the Towns of Cheektowaga and Lancaster in Erie County and has a population of approximately 15,300. The Village is governed by an elected Village Board, which comprises four Trustees and a Mayor. The Village’s expenditures for the 2011-12 fiscal year totaled approximately $12.4 million.

Key Findings

• We found significant problems with the accounting for and reporting of capital project activity and the use of certain debt proceeds. The Administrator did not maintain capital project records in a manner that readily provides information about actual resources committed and expenditures incurred throughout the course of each project, which often span two or more fiscal years. Rather, the Administrator recorded certain capital project activity in the sewer fund, together with routine sewer operations, which are budgeted for annually by the Board.
• The commingling of all of these resources and transactions in the sewer fund does not allow for capital activity to be appropriately monitored against project authorizations approved by the Board and for compliance with legal requirements related to debt proceeds.

Key Recommendations

• Properly record each capital project separately in the capital projects fund.
• Use the records for each capital project to track the progress and costs of each project.