In 2017, OSC issued an audit report that included findings that the Town's accounting records and reports were incomplete, inaccurate and could not be relied on to make financial decisions. The Supervisor has continued to not maintain the Town's accounting records and reports in a complete, accurate, up-to-date or timely manner. Without reliable accounting records, the Board cannot make sound financial decisions.

District officials did not establish adequate controls over network user accounts and did not develop a written IT contingency plan. As a result, the District had additional entry points for attackers to access and view personal, private and sensitive information on the network and did not have sufficient documented guidance or plans to follow to resume essential operations if an unexpected IT incident occurred. In addition to finding sensitive IT control weaknesses that were confidentially communicated to officials.

We reviewed 88 claims totaling approximately $5.5 million and found the District needs to improve the claims audit process.

BOCES officials did not always use competitive methods when procuring goods and services. We examined purchases totaling $8.2 million and found purchases totaling $1.2 million were either not competitively procured or not procured as required by the BOCES' Purchasing Regulation.

The District did not maximize Medicaid reimbursements by submitting claims for all eligible Medicaid services provided. We reviewed reimbursements for 20 eligible students, or 13 percent of the eligible student population.

While we found online banking transactions were appropriate, District officials did not secure access to online banking. In addition to sensitive information technology (IT) control weaknesses that we confidentially communicated to District officials.

The claims auditor did not perform a proper claims audit because she did not ensure claims had adequate supporting documentation for her review prior to approval.

Payroll payments were not always accurate and supported, and leave accrual benefits were not clearly authorized.

District officials did not have adequate internal controls over fuel credit card purchases and fuel inventory, such as written policies and procedures. As a result, 18,369 gallons of fuel costing approximately $38,300 are not accounted for.

The Board and District officials did not effectively manage the District's financial condition. As of June 30, 2021, recalculated surplus fund balance totaled $23.6 million, exceeding the 4 percent statutory limit by 26 percentage points or $20.4 million. We project that the District will generate another operating surplus of approximately $9.3 million in 2021-22 and will not need to use $903,000 in appropriated fund balance. As a result, the District levied more taxes than needed to fund operations.

The Board and District officials did not properly plan and manage the renovation project.

The County Clerk and Surrogate's Court are responsible for maintaining up-to-date and complete records for court and trust funds and abandoned property. Pursuant to New York State Finance Law Section 184, the Treasurer is required to submit a report on an annual basis to the State Comptroller accounting for all money, securities and other properties deposited to court and ordered into his custody.

The Board and District officials did not properly manage fund balance and reserves. Officials' practices of appropriating fund balance and reserves that are not needed circumvents the statutory limit on surplus fund balance and lacks transparency.

The former Clerk did not properly account for, report, deposit, record and remit all collections to the appropriate parties in a timely and accurate manner. As a result of our audit and investigation, the former Clerk pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny and first-degree tampering with public records, and she agreed to pay $21,296 in restitution before sentencing. In August 2020, the former Clerk was sentenced to five years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service. The following conditions contributed to the theft of money and its concealment.

District officials did not establish adequate controls to prevent inappropriate, unnecessary and unauthorized software from being installed on District computers.

The County Clerk and Surrogate's Court are responsible for maintaining up-to-date and complete records for court and trust funds and abandoned property. Pursuant to New York State Finance Law Section 184, the Treasurer is required to submit a report on an annual basis to the State Comptroller accounting for all money, securities and other properties deposited to court and ordered into his custody.

Based on the results of our review, except for the item mentioned below, we found that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the 2023 proposed budget are reasonable.

The Board did not ensure the claims auditor was properly trained or had necessary access to District records for the claims auditor to effectively perform the Board's claims audit responsibilities. As a result, claims were not always adequately supported or properly audited before payment. For example, we reviewed 100 claims totaling $520,121 and found that claims totaling $122,184 were not properly audited or did not comply with the District's procurement policy.

District officials did not ensure that goods and services were procured in the most cost-efficient manner or provide adequate oversight of awarded contracts. As a result, the District could have paid more than necessary for goods and services.

Based on the results of our review of the 2023 proposed budget, we identified certain revenue and expenditure projections and other matters that should be reviewed by the Mayor and Council.