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

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

The current and former clerk-treasurers did not maintain complete, accurate or up-to-date financial records. As a result, the board lacked the financial information necessary to properly monitor and manage village finances. The clerk-treasurers did not properly record financial activity totaling $10.5 million related to bank transfers, payroll, real property taxes and cash receipts and disbursements. They did not perform bank reconciliations, allowing discrepancies between general ledger cash balances and adjusted bank balances to remain unidentified and unresolved. They did not provide monthly balance sheet reports to the board or file Annual Financial Reports with the Office of the State Comptroller, as required by law. The board did not annually audit the clerk-treasurers’ records, as required by law.

Town of Ripley – Town Clerk Collections (Chautauqua County)

The town clerk did not always record, deposit, remit and report all collections in a timely and accurate manner. Because of this, there was an increased risk for money to be lost or used for inappropriate purposes. The longer collections remain unremitted, the longer they are not available for town operations. The audit determined the clerk did not deposit 2023 tax collections totaling approximately $882,000 within 24 hours or record 2023 tax collections totaling approximately $560,000 daily as required. The board did not conduct an annual audit of the clerk’s records, as required.

Town of Elbridge – Payroll and Leave Accruals (Onondaga County)

Town officials did not ensure that all payroll payments were accurate, supported and authorized and that leave accrual records were maintained accurately. Auditors determined that the town supervisor approved payroll without having any information regarding the numbers of hours that employees worked, the leave time that they used or their leave accrual balances. Also, staff were unaware of all the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and the town’s employee handbook that affect leave accrual records. The handbook did not require salaried employees to prepare time sheets or timecards. As a result, seven full-time employees with 2024 salaries totaling $238,569 did not prepare time records to document their days and hours worked and leave accruals that they used.

Wallace Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. – Board Oversight (Steuben County)

The department officers and members did not enforce financial provisions outlined in the department’s constitution and bylaws or adopt adequate policies and procedures to provide effective financial oversight of operations. The membership did not elect a five-member board or financial secretary and the president did not appoint members to the auditing committee to assist with financial oversight. The treasurer did not submit various annual reports as required, and did not have a system for recording all receipts and disbursements. The president had sole control of the foreign fire insurance bank account instead of the treasurer, as required by law. These actions result in an increased risk of theft and waste of department resources.

Town of Dayton – Audit Follow-Up (Cattaraugus County)

The review assessed the town’s progress in implementing recommendations in the town’s prior audit report (2019M-189), released in January 2020. The audit found the supervisor did not maintain accurate financial records. The audit included seven recommendations to help improve the quality of financial records and reports. The audit follow-up found that town officials have not taken corrective action, as none of the seven audit recommendations were implemented.

Town of Dayton – Audit Follow-Up (Cattaraugus County)

The review examined the town’s progress in acting on recommendations from another audit report examining the town’s fund balance management (2019M-221) released in January 2020. The prior audit determined the board did not properly manage fund balance, as the town-wide (TW) general fund and TW highway fund had deficit unrestricted fund balances. The prior audit also determined that the board did not develop and adopt comprehensive written multiyear financial and capital plans and written fund balance and reserve fund policies to help guide the budget development process. The audit included nine recommendations to help improve the town’s financial condition and financial reporting. It appears that the town has not implemented sufficient corrective action. The audit follow-up found that of the nine audit recommendations, only two were fully implemented and seven were not implemented.