[read complete report – pdf] 

Audit Objective 

Determine whether the Village of Elmira Heights (Village) Board of Trustees (Board) properly audited claims. 

Key Findings 

Although New York State Village Law Section 5-524 requires, with limited exceptions, a village board to audit all claims against a village before payment is made, the Board did not perform a thorough and deliberate audit of individual claims. The lack of a proper claims audit increases the risk that improper payments could be made and not detected. 

Although the 213 claims reviewed totaling $771,282 were for proper Village purposes, we determined: 

• 34 claims totaling $143,560 were improperly paid before Board approval. 
• 11 claims totaling $34,987 lacked evidence that verbal or written quotes were obtained as required by the Village’s procurement policy. 

Key Recommendations 

• Perform a thorough and deliberate audit of all claims. 
• Ensure quotes are obtained and attached to the claims to help ensure competition is sought in accordance with the Village’s procurement policy. 

Village officials generally agreed with our findings and indicated they have begun to initiate corrective action.