District officials did not ensure that unneeded network user accounts were disabled in a timely manner. As a result, 21 percent of the District's network user accounts were unneeded and additional entry points that could have been used to inappropriately access the network and view personal, private and sensitive information (PPSI), make unauthorized changes to records, deny legitimate access to electronic information, or gain access to or control over other information technology (IT) functions.

Although the 230 charges reviewed totaling approximately $40,000 were for appropriate District purposes, charges were not properly approved or adequately supported. All 230 charges had one or more exceptions that could have led to potentially inappropriate card use.

The Board and Treasurer did not properly manage the Department's finances. The Board did not adopt realistic budgets or take an active role in monitoring Department finances. As a result, the operating budget was underestimated by $29,667 in 2021 and by $33,298 in 2022.

Village officials developed a comprehensive investment program but did not effectively manage the program. During the 22-month audit period, the Village earned approximately $5,800 from money on deposit in the Village's checking and savings accounts, which had an average daily balance of approximately $3.7 million. Had officials considered other legally permissible investment options, the Village may have earned approximately $96,900, or $91,100 more than earned.

District officials did not properly approve and monitor overtime worked by Facilities Department employees. As a result, employees may have worked unnecessary overtime.

BOCES officials did not properly monitor and account for IT assets. As a result, officials cannot ensure that assets are in BOCES' possession and protected against loss or unauthorized use.

School officials did not always accurately compensate employees or require adequate support for hours worked. Therefore, payroll errors went undetected and resulted in unnecessary and erroneous payments.

The Board of Education (Board) and District officials did not always use a competitive process to procure goods and services. As a result, they did not comply with District policies or New York State General Municipal Law (GML) Section 103 and may have paid more than necessary for goods and services.

The former Comptroller used improper accounting practices and did not complete timely and accurate annual and monthly financial reports. As a result, the City Common Council (Council) did not have accurate and up-to-date financial information when making significant financial decisions.

Separation payments were not properly authorized, adequately supported or accurately calculated. This resulted in unsupported and possibly improper payments being made.

We determined that Town officials accurately paid severance payments totaling $229,251 to the former chief pursuant to a separation agreement the Town entered with the former police chief. Town officials told us the Town entered into the separation agreement, which included severance payments, due to concerns of potential litigation against the Town.

Officials did not always use a competitive process when purchasing goods or services and some officials were unfamiliar with the Town's procurement policy requirements.

The City of Newburgh, located in Orange County, is authorized by Chapter 223 of the Laws of 2010 to issue debt not to exceed $15 million to liquidate the accumulated deficit in the general fund as of December 31, 2010. During the time that Chapter 223 is in effect, the City's proposed annual budgets must be submitted to the State Comptroller for examination and recommendations.

The Board did not provide adequate oversight of financial operations. As a result, the Board cannot be sure it has accurate financial information to make decisions and gauge the Village's financial condition.

The Board of Education (Board) did not always ensure non-instructional employee overtime was properly monitored, approved or calculated.

District officials did not maintain adequate inventory records and ordered excessive quantities of workbooks. As a result, officials ordered 4,126 sets (each set serves one student) of workbooks that cost $143,036, which were not needed during our audit period. Officials did not maintain a comprehensive perpetual inventory of workbooks, nor did they perform annual inventory counts at year-end.

Chapter 468 of the Laws of 2013 authorizes the County of Rockland (County) to issue debt not to exceed $96 million to liquidate the accumulated deficit in the County's general fund as of December 31, 2012. Additionally, Chapter 468 requires the County to submit to the State Comptroller, during the “effective period” of Chapter 468, its proposed budget for the next succeeding fiscal year. The County Legislature, no later than five days prior to the adoption of the budget, must review all recommendations made by the State Comptroller and make adjustments to its proposed budget consistent with any recommendations made by the State Comptroller.

The District's claims auditor did not properly audit and approve all claims prior to payment.

Based on the results of our review, except for the matters described in this letter, we found that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the proposed budget appear reasonable. However, we identified certain revenue and expenditure projections and other matters that should be reviewed by the Mayor and Council.

District officials properly managed user account permissions in the financial application but did not properly secure user account access to the network or manage user account permissions in the student information application. As a result, there is a significant risk that network resources and student information could be inappropriately altered, accessed or used.