Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the Village’s processes and procedures over cash receipts from parking violations for the period June 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016.

Background

The Village of Sleepy Hollow is located in the Town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County and has approximately 9,870 residents. The Village is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Trustees, which is responsible for overseeing financial activities, including those of the Justice Court. During our audit period, the Village issued 6,005 tickets and collected approximately $255,690 in fines, penalties and fees for parking violations.

Key Findings

• Village officials have not established sufficient procedures for collecting unpaid parking violation fines or set a benchmark for collection rates.
• Since 2012, the Village has contracted with a vendor to assist with the processing of parking tickets and to enforce payment of unpaid parking tickets, but $2.2 million in cumulative unpaid parking tickets were outstanding as of June 30, 2016.

Key Recommendations

• Consider implementing a more aggressive written collection and enforcement policy and establish a benchmark collection rate.
• Periodically monitor and review unpaid fees for parking violations to track the effectiveness of the vendor’s collection system.