Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to assess the Village’s financial condition and the Clerk-Treasurer’s maintenance of the financial records and reports for the period June 1, 2015 through August 5, 2016.

Background

The Village of Fleischmanns is located in the Town of Middletown in Delaware County and has a population of approximately 350. The Village is governed by an elected five-member Board of Trustees. Budgeted appropriations for the general, water and sewer funds for the 2016-17 fiscal year totaled approximately $1.2 million.

Key Findings

• The Board has not developed a multiyear financial plan.
• The Board did not adopt effective budgets because it did not receive accurate and sufficient financial information from the Clerk-Treasurer.
• Unpaid property taxes ($101,000) and water bills ($64,000) have severely impacted the Village’s financial condition.
• The Board did not conduct, or cause to conduct, an annual audit of the Clerk-Treasurer’s records and reports.

Key Recommendations

• Develop and adopt a multiyear financial plan, including estimated future costs of ongoing services and funding goals.
• Adopt reasonable budgets based on accurate historical or known trends for revenues and expenditures, and require the Clerk-Treasurer to provide accurate monthly financial reports.
• Continue to actively pursue collections for outstanding real property taxes and water rents.
• Audit, or provide for an audit of, the Clerk-Treasurer’s financial records and reports on an annual basis.