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Audit Objective

Determine whether the Board of Trustees (Board) provided effective fiscal management.

Key Findings

• Village of Margaretville (Village) officials have not adopted realistic budgets and the general fund available¹ fund balance has increased by $321,000 to $592,786 (or 167 percent of 2017 expenditures) from the beginning of 2014-15 through May 31, 2017.
• The Village has no multiyear financial and capital plans or fund balance policy to plan for and finance future needs.

Key Recommendations

• Adopt realistic budgets based on historical or other known trends.
• Use surplus general fund money as a financing source for funding one-time expenditures, funding needed reserves, reducing Village property taxes.
• Develop comprehensive multiyear financial and capital plans, including a fund balance policy.

District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.

¹ Available fund balance includes unused assigned appropriated fund balance and unassigned fund balance. The appropriated fund balance remained unused because the Board overestimated budgeted appropriations, resulting in general fund surpluses. As a result, the Town did not need all of the appropriated fund balance to finance operations.