New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government and school audits were issued.

Village of Riverside – Clerk-Treasurer’s Records and Reports (Steuben County)

The former and current clerk-treasurers did not prepare or maintain complete, accurate or timely accounting records. As a result, the board’s ability to make informed financial decisions was inhibited because the village’s true financial position was unknown. The clerk-treasurers did not record investment transactions and interfund transfers, improperly recorded receipts, disbursements and budget transfers, and did not record water and sewer adjustments. In addition, the current clerk-treasurer did not file the required Annual Financial Report (AFR) for the last four fiscal years and the current AFR was overdue as of Aug. 9, 2024. The clerk-treasurers also did not file payroll reports or remit withholdings timely to the Internal Revenue Service or the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, which could result in fines and penalties.

City of Dunkirk – Budget Review (Chautauqua County)

The lack of complete, accurate, and current accounting and financial records significantly limited the auditors’ review and precluded them from determining the reasonableness of all of the city’s revenue and expenditure projections. As of Dec. 31, 2022, unassigned fund balance in the general, water, wastewater, refuse and boardwalk funds were ($6,827,480), ($1,163,085), ($247,482), $0 and $0; respectively. The mayor anticipates that the city’s reported operating results in the 2023 audited financial statements will be significantly worse than the deficits in 2022 and officials are also projecting deficits in 2024. The 2025 proposed budget includes a planned deficit in water, wastewater and boardwalk funds, which will further negatively impact the city’s overall financial condition and exacerbate cash flow issues. The city’s known outstanding liabilities totaled more than $20.5 million and the 2025 proposed budget does not provide for satisfying these obligations. These liabilities exceed the $18.5 million maximum amount authorized by an act of the state Legislature for the city to issue debt to liquidate the deficits.

Village of North Haven – Collections (Suffolk County)

Village officials did not ensure collections were properly collected, recorded and deposited in a timely manner. As a result, the village has an increased risk that funds could be lost, misused or misappropriated. Auditors reviewed 922 collections totaling $1.4 million and identified 486 collections totaling $829,694 that had one or more discrepancies. Seventy-two collections totaling $238,032 did not indicate the form of payment (cash or check). Auditors found 358 collections totaling $537,175 did not indicate the date of receipt. Therefore, officials and auditors could not confirm whether the collections were deposited in accordance with village law. Also, 48 collections totaling $53,722 were not deposited in a timely manner and 69 collections totaling $57,426 were not recorded on a timely basis. In addition, officials did not properly segregate the duties of, or review the work performed for, collecting, recording and depositing of collections.

Caledonia-Mumford Central School District – Financial Management (Genesee County)

The board and district officials did not effectively manage fund balance, the difference between revenues and expenditures accumulated over time. As a result, the district’s surplus fund balance is two times the statutory limit. District officials were not transparent with taxpayers and more real property taxes were levied to fund operations. In the 2020-21 through 2022-23 fiscal years, the board-adopted budgets made it appear the district would have budget deficits requiring fund balance to be appropriated and real property taxes to be increased. However, the district had operating surpluses totaling $5.1 million. Appropriating unneeded fund balance circumvents the statutory limit. In addition, three general fund reserves totaling $1.4 million were not necessary or reasonably funded and the debt reserve in the debt service fund had $337,777 in unidentified money that should be returned to the general fund.