On
Ardsley Union Free School District – Financial Management (Westchester
County)
The board and
district officials did not effectively manage the district’s fund balance and
reserves. As a result, the district levied more taxes than needed to fund
operations. The board and district officials overestimated appropriations from
2017-18 through 2021-22 (excluding 2018-19) by an average of $4.1 million,
totaling $16.5 million. In addition, the district appropriated fund balance at
an annual average of $2.9 million from 2017-18 through 2021-22 while it had an
operating surplus in each of those years averaging $1.1 million. As a result,
the appropriated fund balance was not used to fund operations and taxpayers
were taxed more than necessary.
Rye City School District – Payroll (Westchester County)
District
officials did not budget for approximately $600,000 of incurred overtime, and
generally recorded it as regular salaries instead of overtime. As a result,
residents are not being made aware of what the district expects to incur in
overtime costs and the budgets are not transparent. Auditors analyzed the
overtime paid to 15 employees with the highest overtime charges for the audit
period and reviewed all of their time records and payments totaling $428,220.
Auditors found officials recorded $409,391 of that money as salaries, which
precluded officials from monitoring overtime expenditures because they did not
know how much overtime was being paid. The district also lacked overtime
monitoring policies and procedures and paid six employees $2,097 in overtime
wages without proper supporting documentation.
District
officials did not always appropriately track, inventory and safeguard IT
equipment and IT department staff did not maintain complete inventory records.
As a result, district officials cannot assure taxpayers that all IT equipment
is adequately accounted for and would be detected if lost, stolen or misused.
Auditors selected 100 pieces of equipment (devices) costing $88,223 to confirm
their location and that they were properly inventoried and determined that 23%
of the equipment was not properly accounted for. Specifically, three IT
devices, worth a total of $3,012 could not be located. Another 20 IT devices
that cost $19,914 were not listed in the district’s accounting detail report.
BOCES
officials did not properly monitor and account for all capital assets and have
not conducted periodic physical inventories in at least 10 years. As a result,
officials lack assurance the capital asset records are complete and accurate,
and that assets are protected from loss, theft, misuse and obsolescence.
Auditors reviewed 50 assets with a combined purchase price totaling
approximately $259,900 and determined that 10 assets worth a combined $68,600
had exceptions and eight of those assets, totaling approximately $65,400, did
not have required asset tags, were not on the inventory asset list and/or had
incorrect locations on the inventory list. In addition, a camcorder with a
purchase price of $1,700 could not be located or accounted for and a
telecommunications switch with a purchase price of $1,500 was still active on
the inventory list but was disposed of in October 2018.
Town of Gorham – Budgeting (Ontario County)
The board did
not develop and adopt realistic budgets, a financial plan or fund balance and
reserve policies. As a result, the town maintained unreasonable fund balance
levels and likely levied more taxes than necessary. From fiscal years 2020
through 2022, the town-wide (TW) general, town-outside-village (TOV) general,
TOV highway, sewer and water funds combined generated a total of $1.6 million
in operating surpluses. In 2021, sales tax revenues totaling $230,000 were
inappropriately recorded in the TW funds instead of the TOV funds, given
property taxes were levied in the TOV funds. In addition, an excessive $1.5
million of unrestricted fund balance was maintained in the TW general fund as
of
Town of Gorham – Procurement (Ontario County)
Town
officials did not always procure goods and services in accordance with town
policy, statutory requirements and good business practices. As a result, there
is an increased risk that the town paid more than necessary for goods and
services or made purchases that were not for town purposes. For example,
auditors reviewed 65 individual and aggregate purchases totaling $2.5 million
and determined 16 purchases totaling $468,738 were not competitively bid. Officials
also did not comply with purchasing policy requirements for 41 purchases
totaling $1.4 million. Auditors reviewed all nine professional services vendors
totaling $1.1 million and determined officials did not seek competition when
procuring any of these vendors. Two of these vendors lacked written agreements
detailing the services to be provided and their cost. Auditors also reviewed
all 116 credit card purchases totaling $29,562 and determined 12 purchases
totaling $3,726 did not have adequate supporting documentation to indicate they
were appropriate town purchases.
Renaissance Academy Charter School of the Arts – Non-Payroll
Disbursements (Monroe County)
School
officials did not ensure that all disbursements were properly reviewed and
approved, or adequately supported. Certain disbursements were made without
knowing what was purchased or whether the disbursements were for appropriate
school purposes. During the period reviewed, the school’s disbursements totaled
$4.8 million and although a prior audit and other external audits noted school
disbursements lacked adequate supporting documentation, sufficient corrective
action was not taken, including adopting adequate written disbursements
policies. Auditors found 62% of the non-credit card disbursements tested
totaling $276,871 and 86% of the credit card charges tested totaling $43,439
lacked both an itemized invoice or receipt and a documented school purpose. In
addition, the chief education officer (CEO) and chief operating officer have
the ability to make purchases, prepare checks and modify or delete data in the
financial software and the CEO signs checks. The lack of adequate controls
increases the risk for disbursements to be made for non-school purposes and
accounting records being altered without detection.
Farmingdale Union Free School District – Payroll (Nassau County)
District
officials did not properly monitor, approve and control overtime. Officials
also did not ensure all overtime payments were necessary and properly
supported. As a result, there is a significant risk that employees may have
been paid for unnecessary overtime work that could have been avoided with
adequate planning. Auditors determined that the board and district officials
did not establish adequate overtime controls or adopt written policies and
procedures to ensure overtime was incurred only when necessary and unavoidable.
They also did not ensure all overtime was preapproved and monitored. The
district paid 20 employees $167,034 for nonemergency overtime work, including
routine job duties and planned events, without written preapproval and did not
budget for overtime separate from other payroll expenditures. As a result,
district officials did not have adequate information to properly monitor the
overtime budget and expenditures.
Village of Herkimer – Audit Follow Up (Herkimer County)
The purpose
of this review was to assess the village’s progress in implementing
recommendations in the audit report released in August 2019. Based on limited
procedures, the village has demonstrated minimal progress implementing
corrective action. Of the seven audit recommendations, one recommendation was
partially implemented, and six recommendations were not implemented.
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