State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal & School Audits

November 18, 2024

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

Edgemont Union Free School District - Information Technology (IT) (Westchester County)

The IT director did not disable unnecessary user accounts in a timely manner. As a result, the district had an increased risk of unauthorized access to and use of the network. In addition to sensitive IT control weaknesses, auditors reviewed all 665 nonstudent network user accounts and determined that district officials did not disable 34 unneeded network user accounts that had last login dates ranging from July 2021 to July 2023. Officials also did not develop written procedures for adding, modifying or disabling nonstudent network user accounts.

Town of Albion - Supervisor's Records and Reports (Oswego County)

The supervisor did not follow basic accounting practices by maintaining complete and accurate accounting records and financial reports. As a result, the supervisor provided financial records and reports to the board that contained significant errors, and the board lacked reliable information to manage the town's financial operations. Auditors determined that the supervisor did not maintain a general ledger, subsidiary revenue and expenditure ledgers or cash receipts and disbursements journals to properly track financial activity. The supervisor's 2023 revenue and expenditure budget-to-actual reports were not accurate. For example, the reports did not include $551,134 of real property tax revenue and a $109,000 expenditure for a storage building. In addition, budgetary transfers totaling $27,125 were improperly reported as actual expenditures. The supervisor also did not account for payroll-related liabilities, maintain proper cash control accounts and reconcile the town's bank accounts. Lastly, the board did not conduct a thorough annual audit of the supervisor's 2023 accounting records, as required by state law.

Caledonia Joint Fire District - Board Oversight of Long-Term Planning (Livingston County)

The board and district officials did not develop written multiyear financial and capital plans or develop and adopt a written policy related to fund balance and reserves. For example, the board and district officials maintained a capital building reserve totaling $16,424 and planned to construct a multimillion-dollar fire station but did not develop a detailed written financial plan for this capital project. The board and district officials also did not develop a written vehicle and equipment replacement plan, and three board members did not know when these items needed to be replaced or their estimated replacement costs. Although the district had a capital equipment and apparatus reserve totaling $847,113, the board chair's original estimated vehicle and equipment replacement needs indicated the district would need $2.7 million to replace these items over the next five years. Without written long-term financial plans, officials did not determine, among other things: how the construction and replacements would be funded long term; the sustained financial needs associated with constructing a new fire station and replacing old vehicles and equipment; or the effect these decisions would have on the district's fund balance and the tax levy.

City of Lockport - Budget Review (Niagara County)

Based on the results of the review, the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the proposed budget appear reasonable. Auditors expect 2024 fire department overtime expenditures to be within the adopted budget's overtime appropriations. The overtime appropriations in the proposed 2025 budget were reasonable. City officials followed previous recommendations and decreased ambulance revenue estimates closer to actual revenues from $1,025,786 to $991,420; actual collections were approximately $941,000 as of Sept. 30, 2024. The city's ambulance appropriations and revenue estimates in the proposed 2025 budget were reasonable and conservative.

Otisco Fire District - Audit Follow-Up (Onondaga County)

The purpose of this review was to assess the district's progress in implementing the recommendations in an audit report released in February 2017. Auditors found the district has not made progress in implementing corrective action. Of the three audit recommendations, two recommendations were not implemented, and one recommendation was not applicable for the period that we reviewed.