Audits of Local Governments

The Office of the New York State Comptroller’s Division of Local Government and School Accountability conducts performance audits of local governments and school districts. Performance audits provide findings or conclusions based on an evaluation of evidence against criteria. Local officials use audit findings to improve program performance and operations, reduce costs and contribute to public accountability.

For audits older than 2013, contact us at [email protected].

For audits of State and NYC agencies and public authorities, see Audits.

Topics
School District | Information Technology

November 19, 2021 –

District officials did not ensure IT systems were adequately secured and protected against unauthorized use, access and/or loss.

Town | Financial Condition

November 19, 2021 –

The Board and officials did not develop and adopt realistic budgets, maintain reasonable levels of fund balance, or properly plan for equipment replacement.

Justice Court | Justice Court

November 19, 2021 –

The Justices did not always ensure money due to the Court were collected, deposited, recorded and reported in an accurate and timely manner.

Town | Financial Condition

November 19, 2021 –

The Board adopted structurally balanced budgets. However, it could improve budgeting practices and be more transparent with how it budgets for the general and highway funds.

Town | Records and Reports

November 19, 2021 –

The Supervisor did not properly appoint, and the Board and Supervisor did not properly monitor.

Town | Information Technology

November 19, 2021 –

Officials did not adequately safeguard IT resources. Although the Town paid an IT service provider more than $98,000 in 2019, officials did not define the provider's responsibilities.

Village | Information Technology

November 12, 2021 –

Village officials did not ensure IT assets were adequately protected from unauthorized access, use and loss.

School District | Information Technology

November 12, 2021 –

District officials did not ensure that the District's network access controls were secure.

School District | Information Technology

November 12, 2021 –

District officials did not adequately safeguard computerized data from unauthorized use, access and loss and although the District paid an IT vendor $106,460 for IT services, officials did not have clear contract language that identified the IT vendor's roles and responsibilities. As a result, gaps in IT security practices occurred.

County | Other

November 12, 2021 –

Based on the results of our review, we found that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the 2022 proposed budget are reasonable.

City | Other

November 10, 2021 –

The City's use of approximately $7.3 million of fund balance to close gaps in the budget decreases the fund balance that is available to cover unforeseen circumstances. The City could potentially face shortfalls based on revenue estimates for parking violation fines, sanitation user fees, sewer usage and sale of metered water. Based on projections, the health insurance appropriation is likely underestimated by $442,000. Budgeted overtime funding for firefighters ($1.5 million) and police ($1.4 million) is likely underestimated by a total of at least $359,000. All four of the City's collective bargaining agreements are set to expire at the end of 2021. The City faces potential increased salary and wage costs when these agreements are settled. The proposed budget does not include a contingency appropriation in the general fund. The proposed budget does not include a tax overlay, which could potentially create a revenue shortfall in 2022.

Town | Other

November 8, 2021 –

Based on the results of our review, we found that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the 2022 tentative budget are reasonable.

Local Development Corporation | Other

November 5, 2021 –

The CEDC Board did not properly manage or monitor the revolving loan fund program and was unaware inadequate accounting records were maintained.

School District | Information Technology

November 5, 2021 –

District officials did not adequately manage and monitor network user accounts and permissions. As a result, the District has an increased risk that it could lose important data and suffer serious interruption in operations.

City | Other

November 5, 2021 –

Based on the results of our review, except for matters described below, the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the proposed budget appear reasonable.

Fire District | Financial Condition

November 5, 2021 –

The Board did not properly establish and manage the capital reserve fund, establish a written reserve fund policy or adopt a written multiyear capital plan. In addition, annual update documents (AUDs) were not filed timely and the required independent audit of the financial statements was not conducted.

City | Other

November 4, 2021 –

Based on the results of our review, we found that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the 2022 proposed budget are reasonable. However, we identified certain revenue and expenditure projections that should be reviewed by the Mayor and Council.

School District | Information Technology

October 29, 2021 –

District officials did not ensure network user accounts were adequately configured and secured. In addition to sensitive information technology (IT) control weaknesses which we communicated confidentially to officials.

Fire District | Financial Condition

October 29, 2021 –

The Board did not effectively manage the District’s financial condition and did not adopt realistic budgets from 2018 through 2021.

School District | Purchasing

October 22, 2021 –

The Board did not ensure that purchases were adequately documented and approved to verify that a competitive process was used to procure goods and services and ensure the optimal use of resources.