Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to evaluate the Village’s water operations for the period June 1, 2010, to October 11, 2012.

Background

The Village of Penn Yan is located in Yates County, and has a population of approximately 5,200. The Village is governed by an elected Board of Trustees comprised of six Trustees and the Mayor. The budgeted general fund appropriations for 2012-13 are approximately $4.4 million and water fund appropriations are approximately $1.74 million.

Key Findings

• The Board has not adopted appropriate policies and did not receive or review sufficient financial information to appropriately monitor water financial operations. Our examination of the billing and collection of customers within the Village did not disclose any material errors or irregularities. However, we found that the Village has not established formalized, agreed-upon regulations to define and allocate water plant costs for municipal customers.
• The Village is inappropriately billing municipalities for unknown future capital costs, and is holding this money in a reserve that was not legally created.

Key Recommendations

• Establish written policies and procedures, consistent with the terms and conditions of the inter-municipal water agreements for water operations. Ensure that municipal billing calculations are equitable.
• Budget for funds which are anticipated to be needed for future capital projects and place the funds in a lawfully established reserve fund