ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE [AI] IS NOT USED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN PREPARING NYPPL SUMMARIES OF JUDICIAL AND QUASI-JUDICIAL DECISIONS

April 17, 2023

State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases School & Municipal Audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audits and reports were issued were issued on April 12, 2023.

Links to material posted on the Internet highlighted in COLOR.

Village of Stamford – Claims Audit (Delaware County)

The board did not effectively audit claims prior to payment. As a result, disbursements were made for unsupported and improper claims. During the audit period, the board approved 890 claims totaling $8.2 million. Of the 200 claims totaling $1 million that were examined, 78 claims totaling $195,545 did not have support that the purchases complied with competitive bidding requirements or the village’s procurement policy, five claims totaling $1,334 included food and alcohol purchases and one claim totaling $700 did not have an itemized receipt and did not follow procurement guidelines. In addition, six claims totaling $637 did not have appropriate support, such as an itemized receipt or invoice. Lastly, credit card claims totaling $62,404 were improperly paid before board audit.

 

Village of Stamford – Pool Capital Project Planning and Monitoring (Delaware County)

The board did not transparently plan or sufficiently monitor the project. As a result, total costs exceeded grant revenues by $256,302 and contributed to the declining fund balance in the village’s general fund. The board did not prepare a project budget or ensure that a separate capital projects fund was set up to record project revenues and expenditures. The board also did not ensure the project was monitored and change orders were reviewed and approved, nor did it competitively procure project contracts and expenditures.

 

Village of Waverly – Parks and Recreation Department Financial Activities (Tioga County)

Village officials did not establish adequate controls over the department’s financial activities, resulting in $16,525 in unaccounted for collections. Cash receipt processes and oversight were inadequate and key duties were not segregated. In addition, collection, receipting and recordkeeping procedures were inadequate. The department hosted 15 tournaments and held nine fundraisers. However, no money was deposited for 11 of the tournaments and two of the fundraisers. Registration forms for 26 of 36 sports leagues were not maintained. The former director awarded scholarships (i.e., waived registration fees) without any guidelines, board oversight or approval, and also inappropriately used village bank accounts for non-village activities. As a result of the audit and investigation, the former director was arrested and pleaded guilty in December 2022 to official misconduct. As part of his plea, he resigned from his position and was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and paid the full restitution of $16,525.

 

Wyandanch Union Free School District – Budget Review (Suffolk County)

Based on the results of the review, auditors found that the revenue and expenditure projections in the 2023-24 proposed budget are reasonable. However, auditors also found that the district’s proposed budget includes approximately $11.3 million in health insurance appropriations; this appropriation is $3.4 million, or 43%, more than the $7.9 million projected expenditure for 2022-23 and $3.9 million, or 54%, more than the $7.4 million average health insurance expenditure incurred during the last five years. The district’s proposed budget complies with the tax levy limit.


Track state and local government spending at Open Book New York. Under State Comptroller DiNapoli’s open data initiative, search millions of state and local government financial records, track state contracts, and find commonly requested data.

CAUTION

Subsequent court and administrative rulings, or changes to laws, rules and regulations may have modified or clarified or vacated or reversed the decisions summarized here. Accordingly, these summaries should be Shepardized® or otherwise checked to make certain that the most recent information is being considered by the reader.
THE MATERIAL ON THIS WEBSITE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. AGAIN, CHANGES IN LAWS, RULES, REGULATIONS AND NEW COURT AND ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS MAY AFFECT THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS LAWBLOG. THE MATERIAL PRESENTED IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE AND THE USE OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON THIS WEBSITE, OR CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING SUCH MATERIAL, DOES NOT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.
NYPPL Blogger Harvey Randall served as Principal Attorney, New York State Department of Civil Service; Director of Personnel, SUNY Central Administration; Director of Research, Governor’s Office of Employee Relations; and Staff Judge Advocate General, New York Guard. Consistent with the Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations, the material posted to this blog is presented with the understanding that neither the publisher nor NYPPL and, or, its staff and contributors are providing legal advice to the reader and in the event legal or other expert assistance is needed, the reader is urged to seek such advice from a knowledgeable professional.
New York Public Personnel Law. Email: publications@nycap.rr.com