Determine whether the Village of Catskill (Village) Clerk-Treasurer maintained complete and accurate accounting records and timely reports.

Key Findings 

The Clerk-Treasurer did not maintain complete and accurate accounting records and did not provide timely, accurate or adequate reports to the Village Board (Board).As a result, the transparency of the Village’s financial operations was reduced, and the risk that unauthorized or inappropriate transactions could occur and go undetected increased.

The Clerk-Treasurer made accounting errors totaling $1.7 million and did not: 

• Reconcile bank balances to the general ledger cash balances. As a result, there is a greater risk that errors and/or irregularities could occur.
• Properly account for three bank account balances totaling $1.1 million at May 31, 2023 in the accounting records.
• Comply with New York State General Municipal Law Section 30 by filing all required Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) with the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC).

Further, the Board did not annually audit the Clerk- Treasurer’s Records, as required by New York State Village Law 4-408 (e).

Key Recommendations 

• Maintain proper financial records.
• File AFRs as required.
• Annually audit the Clerk-Treasurer’s records as required.

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