Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to review Board oversight of financial operations and information technology controls for the period June 1, 2012 through April 15, 2014.

Background

The Village of Livonia is located in the Town of Livonia in Livingston County and has a population of approximately 1,400.The Village is governed by an elected five-member Board of Trustees. General fund appropriations for the 2013-14 fiscal year were $835,790.

Key Findings

• The previous Clerk-Treasurer did not provide regular monthly financial reports but did provide a budget-to-actual report during budget preparation.
• The Board did not ensure that the former or current Clerk-Treasurer filed the AUD in a timely manner. Also, the current Clerk-Treasurer did not file the 2013-14 or 2014-15 property tax cap computation with OSC as required.
• The Board developed budgets that overestimated expenditures from 2010-11 through 2012-13 because the Board did not consider the results of operations for the previous year when budgeting for the following year.
• The Mayor did not ensure that the proper rates of pay were paid or certify the payrolls from April through November 2013.

Key Recommendations

• Require the Clerk-Treasurer to provide current budget-to-actual comparisons each month for use in monitoring revenues, expenditures and reports for cash balances and cash flow.
• Ensure that the Clerk-Treasurer files AUDs and property tax cap calculations with OSC within the prescribed statutory period.
• Develop and adopt budgets with realistic estimates of revenues and expenditures.
• Ensure that proper rates of pay are paid and certify payrolls prior to disbursement of Village funds.