New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued the following during the week ending August 12, 2022
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BOCES and School Districts
Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washington Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) – Employee Benefit Plan Forfeited Funds (2022M-31) BOCES officials did not ensure the administrator returned forfeited funds from the health flexible spending arrangement (FSA), dependent care assistance program (DCAP) and health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) in a timely manner. As of Dec. 31, 2021, the administrator had not returned $83,068 (97%) in forfeited funds from the FSA, DCAP and HRA for the 2014-15 through 2020-21 plan years to BOCES. As a result, all forfeited funds were not annually available for BOCES’ use. Officials were not aware of the unreturned funds until auditors notified them in January 2022. BOCES lacked adequate procedures to ensure the administrator returned all forfeited funds from the FSA, DCAP and HRA in a timely manner.
East Rochester Union Free School District – Procurement (Monroe County) District officials did not always procure goods and services in accordance with board policies and applicable statutory requirements. Of the $1.88 million in purchases tested from 25 vendors, district officials did not adequately document that they properly sought required competition for 18 purchases. The board and district officials did not develop adequate written purchasing policies and regulations and the board did not annually review the policies as required.
Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District – Change Orders (Erie County) The board and district officials did not properly manage project change orders. The board and district officials did not aggregate 31 change orders, totaling over $860,000 that were for the same or similar types of material or service. As a result, auditors question whether the change orders may have been split to avoid having to seek competitive bids for the additional work. Officials also did not properly approve 296 change orders totaling $3.9 million or comply with the district’s procurement policies and regulations.
Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District – Electronic Records and Reports (Erie County) District officials did not properly maintain electronic records (e-records) in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. The board and district officials did not ensure that e-records were preserved in their original format, intact, in a directory or filing system to maintain the records’ integrity, as required. They also did not adopt an adequate written policy that addressed the creation, maintenance, and storage of e-records, as required. Without a secure e-record storage system in place, there is a risk that unauthorized changes or modifications could be made without detection.
Lancaster Central School District – Financial Management (Erie County) The board and district officials did not properly manage fund balance and reserve funds. The board and district officials did not implement our prior audit’s recommendations to improve their budgeting practices and transparency with taxpayers. Officials overestimated budgetary appropriations by an annual average of $13 million (13%) and appropriated, on average, $2.8 million of fund balance that was not used. Reserves were not used in accordance with adopted budgets and were overfunded in two reserves by approximately $3.3 million. These practices resulted in real property tax levies that were higher than necessary.
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