Claimant's failing to report work performed while receiving workers' compensation benefits results in his permanent disqualification from receiving future benefits

A claimant for Workers' Compensation Benefits [Claimant] appealed a decision of the Workers' Compensation Board which, among other things, found Claimant violated Workers' Compensation Law §114-a by failing to report work that he had performed while receiving benefits. The penalty imposed by the Board: permanently disqualifying Claimant from receiving future wage replacement benefits.

The Appellate Division's decision in this action notes that the record indicated that although Claimant had represented on forms submitted to the insurance carrier that he had not engaged in any work for any employer or for his own business since the date of the accident, Claimant's hearing testimony and his social media posts indicated that he had performed certain "side jobs, including concrete work, plaster work and painting ... for which he was paid" while he was receiving workers' compensation benefits.

Noting that omitting "material information" may constitute a knowing false statement or misrepresentation, the Appellate Division sustained the Board's decision. The court explained that determining whether a claimant seeking workers' compensation benefits has violated Workers' Compensation Law §114-a is within the province of the Board. In addition, said the Appellate Division, the Board is "the sole arbiter of witness credibility, and its decision will not be disturbed if supported by substantial evidence."

Citing Kornreich v Elmont Glass Co., Inc., 194 AD3d 1322, the Appellate Division sustained the Board's decision, noting that "the Board's determination that [Claimant's] failure to disclose his work activities constituted a knowing misrepresentation in violation of Workers' Compensation Law §114-a and was supported by substantial evidence." To the extent that Claimant relied on "exculpatory evidence" in support of his claim, the Appellate Division opined that this created "a credibility issue for the Board's resolution."

Click HERE to access the text of the Appellate Division's decision.

Employee found guilty of charges of excessive absences from work and latenesses terminated from the position

In this CPLR Article 78 action challenging the termination of an employee found guilty of incompetence and misconduct due to excessive absences caused by physical incapacity, the Appellate Division, citing Romano v Town Bd. of Town of Colonie, 200 AD2d 934, observed that although the employee may offer "a valid" reason for each one of the individual absences set out in the disciplinary charges at issue that fact "is irrelevant to the ultimate issue of whether his [or her] unreliability and its disruptive and burdensome effect on the employer rendered him [or her] incompetent to continue his [or her] employment."

Citing Matter of Cupo v Uniondale Fire Dist., 181 AD3d 594, the court explained that judicial review of factual findings made after a hearing pursuant to Civil Service Law §75 "is limited to consideration of whether the determination was supported by substantial evidence." Further, the Appellate Division noted that "A reviewing court 'may not weigh the evidence or reject the choice made by [the administrative agency] where the evidence is conflicting and room for choice exists.'"

Finding that substantial evidence* in the record supports the determination that the employee was guilty of incompetence and misconduct as charged, with the employee's failure to give more than a few hours of advance notice for any of these absences, was disruptive and burdensome in that the employee's supervisor was forced to perform the employee's work in addition to the supervisor's own tasks. Further, opined the Appellate Division, the fact that the employee received "retroactive authorization" for some of these absences is "irrelevant to the ultimate issue" here: the employee's unreliability had a disruptive and burdensome effect, rendering the employee incompetent.

Applying the Pell doctrine,** the Appellate Division found that on the record before it, imposing the penalty of termination was not "'so disproportionate to the offense as to be shocking to one's sense of fairness" and this did not constituting an abuse of discretion as a matter of law.

* Substantial evidence has been defined as such relevant proof as a reasonable mind may accept as adequate to support a conclusion or ultimate fact [Matter of Berenhaus v Ward, 70 NY2d 436].

**See Pell v Board of Educ. of Union Free School Dist. No. 1 of Towns of Scarsdale & Mamaroneck, Westchester County, 34 NY2d 222.

Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's ruling.

Determining if a statement alleged to have been made by a party constitutes defamation of a public entity or it members for the purposed of litigation

The members of a town planning board [Board] commenced a lawsuit in Supreme Court to recover damages claimed to have resulted from allegedly defamatory statements made by the Defendants contained in a letter published on the "opinion" page of a nonparty newspaper. The Defendants moved pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7) to have Supreme Court dismiss the Boards complaint. Supreme Court granted Defendants' motion and the Board appealed the court's ruling.

In its decision the Appellate Division, citing Stone v Bloomberg L.P., 163 AD3d 1028, quoting Greenberg v Spitzer, 155 AD3d 27: "The elements of a cause of action for defamation are (a) a false statement that tends to expose a person to public contempt, hatred, ridicule, aversion, or disgrace, (b) published without privilege or authorization to a third party, (c) amounting to fault as judged by, at a minimum, a negligence standard, and (d) either causing special harm or constituting defamation per se."

However, explained the court, "Whether a particular statement constitutes an opinion or objective fact is a question of law," [see Mann v Abel, 10 NY3d at 276]. Further, said the Appellate Division, in determining whether a challenged statement is opinion or fact, the factors to be considered by courts are:

"(1) whether the specific language at issue has a precise, readily understood meaning;

"(2) whether the statements are capable of being proven true or false; and

"(3) whether either the full context of the communication in which the statement appears or the broader social context and surrounding circumstances are such as to signal readers that what is stated is likely to be opinion, not fact."

Applying these factors in the instant case, the Appellate Division concluded that Supreme Court "properly determined that the statements at issue constituted nonactionable expressions of opinion."

Although the Board had contend that the statements at issue "are reasonably susceptible of defamatory connotations," the Appellate Division opined that the Board's complaint failed to "make a rigorous showing that the language of the [article] as a whole can be reasonably read both to impart a defamatory inference and to affirmatively suggest that the [Defendants] intended or endorsed that inference," citing Udell v NYP Holdings, Inc., 169 AD3d at 957, quoting Stepanov v Dow Jones & Co., Inc., 120 AD3d 28, 37-38.

Accordingly, the Appellate Division sustained Supreme Court's ruling.

Click HEREto access the Appellate Division's decision.

Audits and reports issued by the New York State Comptroller during the week ending April 22, 2022

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audits and reports were issued during the week ending April 22, 2022:

Click on the text highlighted in colorto access the complete audit report.

State Departments and Agencies 

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) made $965 million in payments to providers, including facilities, for services ordered, prescribed, referred, and attended by practitioners who were not enrolled in the health care program, including those who had been barred due to misconduct, according to an audit released by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Two other audits released found an additional $17 million in overpayments.

“Medicaid is a critically important program, but its payment system is rife with errors,” DiNapoli said. “My auditors found the system was allowing payments on claims involving providers who were not certified to treat Medicaid patients. This not only costs taxpayers, but also allows providers who should be excluded, and may be unqualified, to treat patients. DOH must improve its efforts to fix the shortcomings with its billing system.”

The New York State Medicaid program provides a wide range of medical services to low-income New Yorkers or to those who have special health care needs. For the state Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2021, New York’s Medicaid program had approximately 7.3 million recipients and Medicaid claim costs totaled $68.1 billion.

Auditors found eMedNY, DOH’s Medicaid claims processing system, allowed improper payments for services involving ordering, prescribing, referring, and attending providers who were no longer actively enrolled in the Medicaid program at the time of the service. The improper payments included $5.8 million for services involving providers who were excluded from participating in Medicaid due to past improper behavior or wrongdoing.

The audit covered the period of January 2015 to December 2019. DiNapoli noted DOH made changes to eMedNY in February 2018 which led to a significant drop in the amount of improper payments. However, for the period March 2018 through December 2019, auditors still identified about $45.6 million in claim payments for 135,476 services by ineligible providers.

DiNapoli’s auditors noted that when inactive providers are included on Medicaid claims, DOH lacks assurance those providers can furnish such services, and it increases the risk that excluded, or otherwise unqualified, providers are treating Medicaid enrollees.

DiNapoli recommended DOH:

• Review the $965 million in payments for Medicaid claims involving inactive providers and determine an appropriate course of action;
• Enhance controls to prevent improper Medicaid payments for claims that do not report an active provider; and
• Update guidelines to clarify billing requirements.

Department officials generally agreed with most of the audit recommendations and indicated that certain actions have been and will be taken to address them. DOH’s full response is included in the audit.

A second audit found that from January 2016 through December 2020, DOH potentially overpaid $9.6 million for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies that likely should have been provided by nursing homes as part of the daily all-inclusive rate paid to those facilities.

A third audit covering Medicaid claims processing for the six months ended March 31, 2021 found nearly $7.4 million in improper Medicaid payments, including $3.3 million paid for fee-for-service inpatient claims that should have been paid by managed care or that were also reimbursed by managed care, and $1.5 million paid for inpatient claims that were billed at a higher level of care than what was actually provided. Auditors contacted providers and by the end of the audit fieldwork, about $5.6 million of the improper payments had been recovered.

Audits

Medicaid Program: Improper Payments for Services Related to Ordering, Prescribing, Referring, or Attending Providers No Longer Participating in the Medicaid Program.

Medicaid Program: Improper Medicaid Managed Care Payments for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies on Behalf of Recipients in Nursing Homes.

Medicaid Program: Claims Processing Activity October 1, 2020 Through March 31, 2021.

 School Districts

Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego Board of Cooperative Educational Services (2021M-207) Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) officials did not properly monitor and account for fixed assets. Thirty-two of the assets tested and valued at $64,300 were not properly accounted for. Auditors found that 28 assets (computers, electrostatic sprayers, nursing beds and other assets) with combined purchase prices of approximately $47,500 did not have required asset tags, were not on the inventory or information technology (IT) inventory asset lists and/or had incorrect or no location noted on the inventory list. A color copier and refrigerator with a combined purchase price of more than $7,200 could not be located. Another two assets (a phone server and a computer) valued at $9,600 were listed in BOCES inventory as active and could not be found.  

 

Lynbrook Union Free School District – Purchasing (Nassau County) The purchasing agent did not ensure purchases adhered to the district’s purchasing policy for goods and services not subject to competitive bidding. As a result, the purchasing agent approved 17 purchases totaling $150,961 without knowing whether the purchases were a prudent and economical use of taxpayer money, and in the district’s best interest.

 

Pelham Union Free School District – Information Technology (Westchester County) District officials did not establish adequate controls over user accounts to help prevent against unauthorized use, access, and loss, and did not adopt an adequate IT contingency plan. In addition to sensitive IT control weaknesses that were communicated confidentially to officials, officials did not periodically review unneeded user accounts and permissions to determine whether they were appropriate or needed to be disabled.

Municipal Audits

Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency – Claims Auditing (2022M-12) Auditors reviewed 100 claims totaling $846,279 and determined they were for appropriate purposes and generally supported by adequate invoices and/or other documentation. However, none of these claims were independently reviewed and approved prior to payment. The board did not appoint someone to audit claims and did not develop and adopt written policies, procedures or other guidance to communicate expectations for the claims audit process.

City of Hornell – Business Improvement District (BID) (Steuben County) The council did not provide sufficient oversight of the BID and the BID Plan lacked sufficient detail to allow city officials to adequately monitor the use of BID funds. The council did not enter into a written agreement with the district management association or monitor how the association used BID funds, resulting in revenues of at least $3,915 that were unaccounted for and 138 questionable disbursements by the association’s executive director totaling $24,955. Based upon audit findings and a subsequent investigation, the executive director of the association was arrested in January 2020 and charged with Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. On January 7, 2022, the executive director pled guilty to Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and was ordered to pay $1,711 in restitution.

City of Lackawanna – Garbage Collection Fees (Erie County) City officials did not always assess and bill garbage fees in accordance with the City Code. Officials also did not provide adequate oversight or develop policies and procedures for assessing and billing garbage fees. Of the 33 properties reviewed, 30 were not assessed and/or billed the correct garbage fees in accordance with the code. Twenty-five of these properties were underbilled a total of $6,350. While 16 organizations were billed for garbage services they received, the Code indicates the organizations were not eligible for such services. Of the 27 garbage fee exemptions reviewed, 14 lacked appropriate support and/or did not comply with city requirements.

 

City of Lackawanna – Network Management and Internal Controls (Erie County) City officials did not establish adequate controls to safeguard the network against unauthorized access or disruption. City officials did not regularly review, identify and disable unnecessary network user accounts. As a result, 14 unnecessary generic network user accounts and 26 usernames associated with inactive or former employee accounts were not disabled. City officials have not developed written IT policies and did not provide users with IT security awareness training.

 

Schonowe Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. – Board Oversight (Schenectady County) The board did not develop financial procedures for collections and disbursements, periodically monitor the budget or ensure the constitution was followed. As a result, the company was unable to confirm all money was recorded and deposited intact. Collections totaling $8,956 lacked proper supporting documentation to determine whether they were deposited intact and disbursements totaling $3,052 were not properly supported, audited or authorized before payment.

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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.  

Searching for "Abandoned Property" received by the State Comptroller

Pursuant to provisions of the Abandoned Property Law and related laws, the Office of the State Comptroller receives unclaimed monies and other property deemed abandoned. A list of the names and last known addresses of the entitled owners of this abandoned property is maintained by the office in accordance with Section 1401 of the Abandoned Property Law

Interested individuals and organizations may determine if their name appears on the Abandoned Property Listing by contacting the Office of Unclaimed Funds, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at: 1-800-221-9311 or visit Department of Audit and Controls' web site by clicking HERE.

If you are searching for the name of a public entity or an employee organization, its name may be found among those listed. For example:

ALBANY COUNTY

C/O ALBANY COUNTY 112 STATE ST ROOM 800 ALBANY NY 12207

BANK OF AMERICA

CITY OF ROCHESTER

BUILDING SERVICES 414 ANDREWS STREET ROCHESTER NY

JOHNSON CONTROLS INC

CSEA INC LOCAL 1000

143 WASHINGTON AVE ATTN ACCOUNTS PAYABLE ALBANY NY 12210

DELL USA LP

BINGHAMTON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

16 HAWLEY ST BINGHAMTOM NY 13902

SIEMENS USA HOLDINGS INC

Sometimes the name of the entity or organization may be truncated or "modified". For example:

SCHOOL DISTRICT OF ALBANY		ACADEMY PARK ELK STREET ATTN ACCTS PAYA BLE ALBANY NY 12207				CDW LLC
SCHOOL DISTRICT OF J	905 MARCONI AVE RONKONKOMA NY 11779			STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLICATIONS			570 ELMONT ROAD ELMONT NY 11003		TURNER CORP

Claims for abandoned property must be filed with the New York State Comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds as provided in Section 1406 of the Abandoned Property Law. 

For further information contact the Office of the State Comptroller, Office of Unclaimed Funds, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.

Terminating a probationary employee without a hearing

Supreme Court rejected Plaintiff's the petition to annul the determination of New York City Department of Education [DOE] which discontinued the Plaintiff's probationary employment as an assistant principal, and dismissing the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR Article 78. The Appellate Division unanimously affirmed the Supreme Court's ruling.

Appellate Division explained that the Plaintiff failed to demonstrate that her probationary employment as assistant principal was terminated in bad faith, in violation of a law, or for an impermissible reason. The record, said the court, showed that DOE discontinued Plaintiff's employment as a probationary employee because of her failure to comply with directives, complete assignments, and in consideration of a "two-year history of poor work performance."

Citing Childs v Board of Educ. of the City of N.Y., 176 AD3d 560, the Appellate Division noted that in the absence of a demonstration that a probationer's  discontinuance of employment was made in bad faith or in violation of the law, a probationary employee, may be discharged without a hearing.

Click HEREto access the text of the Appellate Division's decision.

 

Former Town of Beekman tax collector pleads guilty to embezzling $86,000 for personal expenses

On April 20, 2022 New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced that Jennifer Colucci, 41, of Hopewell Junction, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $86,000 in tax funds collected for the use of the Town of Beekman and its schools. This plea was a result of a joint investigation between Comptroller DiNapoli’s Office, the New York State Police and Dutchess County D.A. William Grady. 

“Ms. Colucci treated the Town’s treasury like her personal piggybank* and now faces the consequences of her actions,” DiNapoli said. “This case should be a warning to anyone contemplating a betrayal of the public’s trust: you will be held accountable for your actions. I thank Dutchess County D.A. William Grady and the State Police for their partnership in bringing this corruption to light and helping to combat abuse of taxpayers’ trust.”

“Jennifer Colucci put her greed ahead of the community these tax funds were meant to support,” State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen said. “This guilty plea demonstrates the hard work of the New York State Police and our law enforcement partners. I commend and thank the State Comptroller’s Office and Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office for their commitment to investigating those who victimize the unsuspecting public for their own gain.”

Colucci pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the 4th Degree and Corrupting the Government in the 3rd Degree and was ordered to pay $86,389.62 in restitution in Dutchess County Court before Judge Edward T. McLoughlin. She is due back in court on June 17, 2022. 

Colucci used the Town’s money to shop online, order food deliveries, and make car loan payments. She served as Beekman tax collector for two years, ending in August 2020. 

* The practice of using a public office or position of trust for one's own gain or advantage is know as Jobbery.

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Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by filing a complaint online at investigations@osc.ny.gov, or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.

Corruption, fraud, or misconduct in procuring an arbitration award

Supreme Court denied a petition to confirm an arbitration award under color of CPLR §7511.  

§7511 of the CPLR provides, in pertinent part, that an "arbitration award shall be vacated if the court finds that the rights of the complaining party were prejudiced by corruption, fraud, or misconduct in procuring the award." Noting that "[a] party seeking to overturn an arbitration award bears a heavy burden and must establish a ground for vacatur by clear and convincing evidence," the Appellate Division affirmed the Supreme Court's decision.

Citing Goldfinger v Lisker, 68 NY2d at 232-233, the Appellate Division explained that there was "clear and convincing evidence" that the arbitrator committed misconduct and that such misconduct "prejudiced the [Responent's] rights or the integrity of the arbitration process."

Respondents had submitted an affirmation executed by the arbitrator in which the arbitrator "averred that almost a year after the end of the arbitration proceeding, he received information from the [Petitioner] and 'others speaking for' the [Petitioner]  concerning the work that was the subject of the arbitration," and "[b]ased on this information," the arbitrator decided to render the award at issue "without first providing the [R]espondents an opportunity to respond to the information."

In the words of the Appellate Division, "The arbitrator's admitted consideration of evidence received from one party, without providing the other party the opportunity to respond, along with evidence in the record of ex parte communications, established by clear and convincing evidence that the arbitrator committed prejudicial misconduct."

Click HEREto access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.

 

Defendant admits to stealing in excess of $51,000 of her deceased mother’s pension

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Thursday, April 14, 2022, Valerie White, 58, of Middletown, pled guilty in Orange County Court to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree. Under the plea agreement announced on the record at the time of the guilty plea, White was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $51,532.64, which is the total funds that White illegally stole from the state pension system.* 

White’s mother was a pensioner, vested in the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS). At the time that White’s mother retired in 2000, she elected to receive her pension benefits in full until her death. When White’s mother died in 2017, the death was not reported to NYSLRS and pension benefits continued to be made to an account that White jointly held with her mother. As a result, from 2017 until NYSLRS learned of the pensioner’s death in 2019, over $54,000 were unjustly deposited into the account. While NYSLRS was able to claw back approximately $2,500 of the amount stolen, the remaining was spent by White on personal expenses. At the time of her plea, White admitted to stealing the money and that she knew she did not have permission or authority to take the funds.

“Ms. White thought she could get away with defrauding the New York State and Local Retirement System of over $50,000, but she was wrong,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. “Today’s guilty plea should be a warning sign to anyone attempting to steal state pension benefits that my office will find you and work with law enforcement to hold you accountable. I thank Orange County District Attorney Hoovler for his continued partnership and steadfast commitment to holding those who try to defraud the public accountable.”

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the New York State Comptroller’s Office and the New York State Police for their joint investigation of White that led to her arrest.

“The State pension system is the backbone of the hard-working public servants throughout the State,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “That this defendant would seek to manipulate the system for her own benefit is reprehensible. I am thankful for the dedicated investigation conducted by the Comptroller’s Office together with the New York State Police that ensured this defendant would be held accountable for her actions.”

The case is prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Tanja Beemer. 

* A criminal charge is merely an allegation by the police that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

New York State's Comptroller releases fiscal stress scores for certain New York State villages and cities

On April 13, 2022 New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced that 10 villages and two cities have been designated as being in fiscal stress under his Fiscal Stress Monitoring System. DiNapoli evaluated all non-calendar year local governments and designated one city and two villages in “moderate fiscal stress” and eight villages and one city as “susceptible to fiscal stress.”

While no municipalities were in the highest category of “significant fiscal stress,” the Comptroller noted that 73 villages and cities have not filed their financial information, as required. These scores also largely reflect the period when local governments in New York received federal relief funds to assist them in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The financial landscape for many local governments has improved with the infusion of federal aid and stronger economic activity,” DiNapoli said. “The relief funds are temporary, so it is critical that local communities make changes, including carefully managing debt and engaging in long-term planning, that help improve their financial outlook for years down the road.”

The latest round of fiscal scores evaluated local governments with fiscal years ending between Feb. 28 and July 31. DiNapoli’s office evaluated the fiscal health of 522 villages, which predominantly have a fiscal year ending on May 31, based on self-reported data for 2021. The scores also cover the 17 cities with non-calendar fiscal years, including the “Big 4” cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers, each of which have fiscal years ending on June 30.

Amsterdam (Montgomery County) was the only city in “moderate fiscal stress” with a score of 58.3. Last year, Amsterdam was ranked in “significant fiscal stress” with a score of 75. The villages of Addison (Steuben County) and South Dayton (Cattaraugus County) were also in “moderate fiscal stress.” Both villages were ranked in “susceptible to fiscal stress” last year but jumped in score this year with Addison going from 53.8 to 61.7 and South Dayton going from 47.5 to 55.4.

The system, which has been in place since 2012, assesses levels of fiscal stress in local governments using financial indicators including year-end fund balance, cash position, short-term cash-flow borrowing and patterns of operating deficits. It generates overall fiscal stress scores, which ultimately drive final classifications. The system also analyzes separate environmental indicators to help provide insight into the health of local economies and other challenges that might affect a local government’s or school district’s finances. This information includes population trends, poverty and unemployment.

DiNapoli’s office also has a self-assessment tool that allows local officials to calculate fiscal stress scores based on current and future financial assumptions. Officials can use this tool to assist in budget planning, which is especially helpful during periods of revenue and expenditure fluctuations.

In January, 2022 DiNapoli released fiscal stress scores for school districts. In September, 2022 scores for municipalities with a calendar-year fiscal year, which includes all counties, towns, most cities and a few villages, will be released.

List of Villages and Cities in Fiscal Stress

Municipalities in Fiscal Stress

List of Villages and Cities that Failed to File Financial Information

Municipalities that Failed to File or Inconclusive List

Complete List of Fiscal Stress Scores

Data Files

FSMS Search Tool

Tool

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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.

Correcting the "fall-out" resulting from a wrongful termination

A former police officer became ineligible to file for service retirement benefits when she was wrongfully terminated from her position. 

Although the termination was corrected and the former officer was reinstated to her former position, it required the enactment of Chapter 800 of the Laws of 2021 to allow the former officer obtain retirement benefits from the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System.

The bills sponsor explains that through no fault of her own, the police officer was ineligible to file for her service retirement benefit with the New York state and local police as the result of her wrongful termination because at the time of her termination she was ineligible to qualify for a service retirement benefit because she did not have "twenty qualifying years of service credit necessary to retire under her special retirement plan established pursuant to §384-d of the Retirement and Social Security Law. 

The  bill's sponsor, New York State Timothy M. Kennedy, explained that "a grave injustice was corrected" when the police officer's termination was vacated and the police officer was reinstated to her former position, providing her with the necessary twenty years of qualifying service credit required for her to be eligible to qualify for retirement benefits pursuant to Chapter 800.

 

Audits and reports issued by the New York State Comptroller during the week ending April 8, 2022

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audits have been issued during the week ending April 8, 2022:

 Click on the text highlighted in color to access the complete audit report.

School Districts

George Junior Republic Union Free School District – Website Transparency (Tompkins County) Although school district officials maintain a website, certain financial information was either not posted or comprehensive, resulting in a lack of transparency. Officials did not post external audit reports, original and final annual budgets, or board meeting minutes as required.

Hancock Central School District – Non-Resident Student Tuition (Delaware County) Officials did not establish non-resident tuition (NRT) rates in the best interest of school district taxpayers. The board approved NRT contracts between the district and Wayne Highlands School District without performing a cost-benefit analysis. Over the past three school years, the board approved Wayne Highlands NRT rates that were less than the New York State Education Department’s maximum allowable rates and actual BOCES costs by a total of $1.29 million, or an average of $430,000 each school year.

LaFargeville Central School District – Information Technology (Jefferson County) District officials did not establish adequate IT controls over physical IT assets and non-student user account access to the district’s network. In addition to sensitive IT control weaknesses, auditors found that 235 IT assets costing $108,462 were not recorded in the district’s inventory records, and seven computers, two audio systems, one projector and 10 other electronic components that cost $9,266 could not be found.  

Northport – East Northport Union Free School District – Extra-Classroom Activity Fund (Suffolk County)Extra-classroom activity (ECA) funds were not properly collected, recorded, remitted, deposited, disbursed and reconciled. The district did not have proper procedures or a faculty auditor. Collections totaling $5,767 were not recorded in the accounting records and were not deposited in the bank and collections of $845,258 were missing key support. Records to support transactions totaling $134,449 were missing and 95 payment request forms totaling $66,149 either had no supporting documents or they lacked key information.

Oswego City School District – Separation Payments (Oswego County) District officials did not accurately calculate separation payments or benefits for five of the 10 employees reviewed. Officials made separation payments totaling $38,477 that were inconsistent with language in the employees’ CBA or employment contract. 

Otego-Unadilla Central School District – Information Technology (Otsego County) The board and district officials did not ensure computerized data was safeguarded. In addition to sensitive IT control weaknesses, auditors found the district had 58 unneeded user accounts and officials did not provide IT security awareness training. The board also did not adopt a written IT contingency plan.

Seneca Falls Central School District – Procurement (Seneca County) District officials did not always use a competitive process to procure goods and services to achieve the optimal use of district resources. Auditors reviewed 40 purchases and found 21 lacked competition or documentation to support an exception from competition. District officials did not competitively procure or document an exception from soliciting competition for services provided by six professional service providers that were paid a total of $895,668. The district also did not have written agreements with three professional service providers paid $112,262.

Wilson Central School District – Financial Management (Niagara County) The board and district officials did not properly manage fund balance and reserves. As of June 30, 2021, the recalculated surplus fund balance was $3.3 million, which exceeds the 4% statutory limit by 8 percentage points. District officials improperly restricted more than $1.6 million in the debt reserve fund. Workers’ compensation reserves fund balance of $836,000 can fund the average workers’ compensation expenditures for 26 years. Unemployment reserve balance of about $400,000 is nearly 200 times the average unemployment expenditure. By maintaining surplus funds in excess of the statutory limit and maintaining excess reserves, real property taxes may have been higher than necessary.

Wyandanch Union Free School District – Budget Review (Suffolk County) Auditors found that the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the proposed budget were reasonable. The district’s proposed budget complies with the tax levy limit because it includes a tax levy of $23,105,027, which is within the limits established by law.

Municipal Audits

Town of Coventry – Town Clerk/Tax Collector (Chenango County) The clerk did not record, deposit, remit or report all collections in a timely manner. As a result, the town’s collections were at a greater risk of being lost or misappropriated. The clerk did not accurately record all real property tax collections and deposited some collections and fees months after they were received. As of July 31, 2021, a portion of real property tax penalties collected ($1,601), a taxpayer’s double payment ($1,465), and a portion of clerk fees collected ($1,075) were not remitted or refunded to the appropriate parties. The board did not conduct the required annual audit of the clerk’s records.

Town of Delhi – Highway Department Leave Records (Delaware County) Town officials did not accurately maintain employee leave records. Leave balances for the former deputy highway superintendent from 2015 through 2019 were overstated by a total of 362 hours valued at almost $8,000. Of this, 272.5 hours was from leave time not being properly recorded, while 89 hours was attributed to the deputy’s failure to use sick leave for lost time due to an occupational injury, which resulted in an overpayment of his health and dental premiums of $6,411. The 2018 and 2019 leave balances of six of the other seven department employees were overstated by 94 hours. Based upon this examination and investigation of discrepancies the former deputy was arrested in September 2020 and charged with grand larceny in the third degree.

Town of Gaines – Town Clerk/Tax Collector (Orleans County) The clerk did not adequately perform her financial duties. The clerk did not deposit collections in a timely manner or perform bank reconciliations. The board also did not perform an annual audit of the clerk’s records, as required by New York State Town Law Section 123.

Town of Morehouse – Records and Reports (Hamilton County) The supervisor did not maintain the town’s accounting records and reports in a complete, accurate, up-to-date or timely manner. The town’s accounting records were not reliable and $2,082,924 in revenues and $673,497 in disbursements were not recorded. Cash balances were understated by about $1.7 million as of June 30, 2021. Federal payroll taxes were not filed timely, resulting in interest and penalties totaling $6,520. The 2012 through 2020 annual update documents (AUDs) were not filed with the Office of the State Comptroller, as required, and bank reconciliations were not performed. Monthly financial reports were not prepared for and submitted to the town board.

Town of Owego – Water Fund Operations (Tioga County) Town officials did not provide adequate oversight of water fund operations. Specifically: 104 of 1,380 water bills tested were not calculated correctly resulting in approximately $70,000 of lost revenue for the town. All 51 water bill adjustments reviewed, totaling $233,400, were not approved by the board. Of those, 28 adjustments totaling approximately $70,100 were also not appropriate. The consolidated water district had operating surpluses of over $465,000 in 2019 and $395,000 in 2020. 28 percent of the water produced, or 138.6 million gallons, is considered unauthorized non-revenue (lost) water, 12 percentage points above the national average.

Sullivan County Funding Corporation – Millennium Revolving Loan Program (2021M-196) Corporation officials did not award all funds from the program in accordance with established guidelines and did not ensure businesses complied with their agreements. The Loan Review Committee approved two loans that exceeded program loan allowances. One loan exceeded the allowance by $37,500, or 100%, and the second by $15,710, or 76%. Officials did not verify businesses’ self-reported job creation and retention numbers and had no procedures for recapture if job creation and retention expectations were not met. Six businesses self-reported they did not meet job creation and retention goals by a total of 24 jobs and seven businesses self-reported they met or exceeded job creation and retention goals by a total of 40 jobs.

Town of Ulysses – Information Technology (Tompkins County) Town officials did not ensure IT systems were adequately secured and protected against unauthorized use, access and loss. The board did not adopt adequate written IT policies or a written IT contingency plan. Officials did not adequately manage local user accounts. The board did not enter into a written service level agreement with the town’s IT service provider. Sensitive IT control weaknesses were communicated confidentially to officials.

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