New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli posts local government and school audits

On December 16, 2025 New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli  announced the following local government and school audits were posted on the Internet.

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

Haverstraw-Stony Point Central School District – Financial Management (Rockland County)

The board and district officials overestimated some appropriations, underestimated certain revenues, and  made unbudgeted year-end transfers totaling $94.4 million. This collectively reduced the effectiveness of managing the district’s financial condition. The board and district officials also made it appear that they needed more funding to meet operational costs than was necessary by appropriating fund balance to balance the budget. Because realistic budgets were not adopted, the board and district officials accumulated significant fund balance but generally did not need those appropriations. The variances between the budgets district officials presented to taxpayers and the district’s actual operational results during the audit period were over $118 million. Of the $94.4 million in year-end transfers, $57.6 million went to the district’s reserves. In some circumstances, the year-end transfers totaling $19.1 million were also not approved by the board before the transfer was made.

Riverhead Central School District – Financial Operations (Suffolk County)

District officials did not provide the board with complete and accurate information in a timely manner to enable them to monitor the district’s financial operations. Financial reports submitted in six of the 22 months to the board were between 60 and 107 days after month’s end. Budget transfers were not properly approved or reported to the board. Also, only one of the 47 budget transfers totaling $12.3 million reviewed was approved by the board.

Henrietta Fire Company Inc. – Board Oversight (Monroe County)

The board did not provide adequate oversight of financial operations, adopt detailed, written bylaws or financial policies, or enforce the limited financial provisions which the bylaws and financial policies contained. The board generally did not review bank statements, canceled check images and bank reconciliations for any accounts to monitor financial operations. Therefore, the board did not have the necessary information to help it ensure that the company’s financial operations were adequately accounted for, recorded and reported. As a result, the company had an increased risk of theft, waste and abuse of company resources.

Otsego County – Court and Trust Funds

Pursuant to state abandoned property law, money that has remained in the hands of the county treasurer for a period of three years, together with all accumulated interest less the county treasurer’s statutory fees, is deemed abandoned property. After public notice, the county treasurer should pay all abandoned property to the State Comptroller by April of the next year. The treasurer, county clerk and Surrogate’s Court clerk generally maintained appropriate records and properly reported court and trust funds. However, auditors identified $74,150 from 15 actions that improperly remained in the treasurer’s custody that should have been turned over as abandoned property.

Hilton Central School District – Audit Follow-Up (Monroe County)

A previous audit, Hilton Central School District – Network Access Controls (2022M-200), determined that district officials did not establish written policies or adequate written procedures for managing network user account access. To help officials improve their network access controls, the audit included a public report that contained three recommendations and confidentially conveyed sensitive IT control weaknesses and recommendations. Auditors determined that officials partially implemented all three recommendations. As a result, the district’s network continued to have increased risk for unauthorized access, misuse or data loss. Auditors also reviewed progress in implementing the recommendations related to the sensitive IT control weaknesses, and communicated those results confidentially to district officials.

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Petitioner's application for accidental disability retirement [ADR] benefits based on her alleged exposure Covid 19 at the worksite denied

A New York State Supreme Court Judge denied Plaintiff's petition seeking to annul the New York City Medical Board and the Trustees of the New York City Police Pension Fund [Respondents] determination's, denying Plaintiff's application for accidental disability retirement [ADR] benefits based on her alleged exposure to Covid 19 and dismissed the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR Article 78.

Plaintiff appealed the Supreme Court's ruling. The Appellate Division affirmed the Supreme Court's decision.

Noting that Petitioner's contracted COVID-19 10 months after then-Governor Andrew Cuomo first declared an emergency and after millions of people tested positive, the Appellate Division concluded that Plaintiff had not suffered an "accident," as it was not unexpected given the widespread circulation of the virus. In the words of the Court, "... Petitioner's] job required contact with others who may have been exposed, exposure to COVID-19 [which] was part of a known and ordinary risk of her job at that time".

Holding that Supreme Court "... properly concluded that [Petitioner] did not sustain her burden of showing that the Trustees' determination to deny her application for ADR benefits was arbitrary and capricious or unlawful as a matter of law", as Petitioner "failed to demonstrate that her exposure to COVID-19 was service-related". Further, the Appellate Division explained that it was rational for the Trustees to find that Petitioner, having worked with a colleague who tested positive for COVID-19 six days after Petitioner did, failed to demonstrate that Petitioner's illness was caused by exposure to that person. 

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

Artificial Intelligence: Self-Assessed AI Risks to Humanity

 Artificial Intelligence: Self-Assessed AI Risks to Humanity

by

Robert A. Michaels*

5 December 2025

ABSTRACT

In contrast to most artificial intelligence risk assessments, the present research directly interviews ChatGPT to elicit an AI self-assessment of AI risks potentially posed to humanity. Of concern are risks of AI as presently configured, and as AI might be configured if altered by nefarious programmers and/or if it acquires consciousness. ChatGPT denied being conscious, having an agenda, or evolving. It agreed, however, that malicious actors could alter it, and “an altered AI could be misused for catastrophic harm, but in practice, I have no independent agency to act on destructive goals.” 

However, ChatGPT agreed it could acquire such “independent agency,” for example via acquiring consciousness. ChatGPT’s statements about potential AI risks and risk management challenges raise policy issues. These include the need for rapid anticipatory response given AI’s fast-paced and accelerating development, and the need to reach beyond the community of responsible AI developers to control malefactors at the international, national, and even at the individual levels. Such management must include massive expansion of the content and audience of civics education: defensive, effective civics content must be introduced into every nook and cranny of our brave new digital world.

In conclusion, ChatGPT can be, indeed has been, used to harm humans, but appears to lack agency or harmful intent. It conceivably could be altered, however, to escape human control and wreak catastrophic harm. Galloping AI demands: (a) urgent, pro-active, objective but conservative, AI risk assessment; (b) development of eRective risk management strategies and policies; and (c) their global implementation.

Acknowledgment: ChatGPT version GPT-5mini was queried for this research.

Click HERE to access Dr. Michaels' article posted on the Internet.

_______________________

*Robert A. Michaels, PhD, CEP; CEO, RAM TRAC Corporation; Schenectady, New York, USA.

Suggested citation:

Michaels, Robert A. Artificial intelligence: self-assessed AI risks to humanity. Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), 10 pages, doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.20035.46880, 5 December 2025; updated 9 December 2025.

Selected items posted on the Internet during the week ending December 12, 2025

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Modernizing the Map: Why Agencies Are Moving GIS to the Cloud Geographic information systems (GIS) are vital for infrastructure management, land use and emergency response, but legacy on-premises platforms can’t keep pace with modern data needs. This paper details why state and local agencies are moving GIS to the cloud to gain scalability, higher uptime and support for advanced analytics and AI. DOWNLOAD 

The Hidden Weak Point in Public Sector Networks Perimeter defenses aren’t failing, they’re just not enough. This guide explores how attackers exploit credential-based access to move laterally across government networks, and why control-plane security is key to closing the gap. DOWNLOAD

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CIO Essentials: Vital Priorities for a Transforming Landscape State and local government CIOs are steering rapid transformation as AI, data and cybersecurity redefine how agencies operate. This paper outlines four essential priorities to succeed in this environment: modernizing legacy systems, elevating data and AI maturity, strengthening enterprise security and improving operational efficiency. DOWNLOAD

Why Every Government City Manager Needs Better Meeting Documentation Poor documentation erodes trust and slows government action; modern tools help preserve institutional memory. READ NOW

Determining the arbitrability of an employee's grievance submitted to the employee's representative for collective bargaining

An employee in the relevant collective bargaining unit filed a grievance with the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., Westchester County Local 860, Town of Greenburgh Unit [CSEA] and CSEA, on behalf of the employee, demanded that the matter be submitted to arbitration. 

The Town of Greenburgh [Town] commenced a CPLR Article 75 seeking a court order permanently staying arbitration. CSEA opposed the Town's petition and cross-petitioned to compel arbitration. 

The Supreme Court granted the Town's petition and denied CSEA's cross-petition. CSEA appealed.

Ultimately the Appellate Division affirmed the Supreme Court's order with costs, observing that New York State's public policy favors arbitral resolution of public sector labor disputes but noted that a dispute between a public sector employer and an employee's grievance is only arbitrable if it satisfies a two-prong test which, among other issues, the Court's decision addresses. 

The text of the Appellate Division's ruling is set out below:

Matter of Town of Greenburgh v Civil Serv. Employees Assn., Inc., Local 1000

2025 NY Slip Op 06711

Decided on December 3, 2025

Appellate Division, Second Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided on December 3, 2025 

     SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

                                Appellate Division, 

                          Second Judicial Department

VALERIE BRATHWAITE NELSON, J.P.

LINDA CHRISTOPHER, JJ

LILLIAN WAN, JJ.

2023-11578
(Index No. 59352/23)

In the Matter of Town of Greenburgh, respondent,

v

Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Westchester County Local 860, Town of Greenburgh Unit, appellant.

Charny & Wheeler P.C., Rhinebeck, NY (H. Joseph Cronen and Nathaniel K. Charny of counsel), for appellant.

Vincent Toomey, Lake Success, NY (Thomas J. Marcoline of counsel), for respondent.

DECISION & ORDER

In a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 75 to permanently stay arbitration, Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Westchester County Local 860, Town of Greenburgh Unit appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Thomas Quiñones, J.), dated September 19, 2023. The order granted the petition to permanently stay arbitration and denied the cross-petition to compel arbitration.

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

An employee of the Town of Greenburgh was promoted to the position of general foreman on a probationary basis and then reassigned to his former position during the probationary period. The employee subsequently filed a grievance with the Town. Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., Local 1000, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Westchester County Local 860, Town of Greenburgh Unit (hereinafter CSEA) filed a demand for arbitration on behalf of the employee. In April 2023, the Town commenced this proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 75 to permanently stay arbitration. CSEA opposed the petition and cross-petitioned to compel arbitration. The Supreme Court granted the Town's petition and denied CSEA's cross-petition. CSEA appeals.

"'Public policy in New York favors arbitral resolution of public sector labor disputes'" (Matter of City of New Rochelle v Uniformed Fire Fighters Assn., Inc., Local 273, I.A.F.F., 206 AD3d 727, 728, quoting Matter of County of Nassau v Detectives Assn., Inc. of the Police Dept. of Nassau County, 188 AD3d 1049, 1050; see Matter of Village of Walden v Village of Walden Police Benevolent Assn., Inc., 210 AD3d 990, 991). "'However, a dispute between a public sector employer and an employee is only arbitrable if it satisfies a two-prong test'" (Matter of City of Yonkers v Yonkers Fire Fighters, Local 628, IAFF, AFL-CIO, 167 AD3d 599, 600, quoting Matter of City of Yonkers v Yonkers Fire Fighters, Local 628, IAFF, AFL-CIO, 153 AD3d 617, 617-618; see Matter of Town of N. Hempstead v Civil Serv. Empls. Assn., Inc., Local 1000, 164 AD3d 1348, 1349). "'In determining whether a grievance is arbitrable, a court must first ask whether there is any statutory, constitutional or public policy prohibition against arbitration of the grievance, and if there is no prohibition against arbitration, the court must then examine the [collective bargaining agreement] to determine if the parties have agreed to arbitrate the dispute at issue'" (Matter of Village of Walden v Village of Walden Police Benevolent Assn., Inc., 210 AD3d at 991 [internal quotation marks omitted], quoting Matter of City of New Rochelle v Uniformed Fire Fighters Assn., Inc. Local 273, I.A.F.F, 206 AD3d at 728; see Matter of County of Nassau v Detectives Assn., Inc. of the Police Dept. of Nassau County, 188 AD3d at 1050).

The Supreme Court properly found that public policy prohibits arbitration of the subject grievance. "'An employee's probationary appointment may be terminated . . . for any reason or no reason at all, so long as the termination was not in bad faith or for an improper or impermissible reason'" (Matter of Young v City of New York, 221 AD3d 721, 722, quoting Matter of Trager v Suffolk County, 185 AD3d 697, 698). "'[A] probationary employee may be discharged without a hearing and without a statement of reasons in the absence of any demonstration that the dismissal was in bad faith, for a constitutionally impermissible reason or an illegal purpose, or in violation of statutory or decisional law'" (Matter of Hayes v State of New York, 134 AD3d 843, 844, quoting Matter of Robinson v Health & Hosps. Corp., 29 AD3d 807, 808; see Matter of York v McGuire, 63 NY2d 760, 761).

Here, the employee was not discharged from his employment, and he did not allege that his reassignment to his former position was for a constitutionally impermissible purpose or in violation of statutory or decisional law. Nor is a reassignment from a probationary position to one's former position a punishment pursuant to Civil Service Law § 75 (see Matter of Patel v New York City Hous. Auth., 26 AD3d 172, 174). Moreover, Civil Service Law § 63(2) provides that the state civil service commission and municipal civil service commissions shall "provide by rule for the conditions and extent of probationary service." Pursuant to this statute, the Westchester County Department of Human Resources set forth the conditions of probationary appointment in Civil Service Rule 11. Thus, requiring the Town to follow for-cause procedures before exercising its discretion in reassigning a probationary employee during the probationary period would be against the purpose of probationary terms, as well as against the policy of allowing the Town to exercise its discretion in maintaining its work force (see Matter of Buffalo Police Benevolent Assn. [City of Buffalo], 4 NY3d 660, 664; Matter of City of Long Beach v Long Beach Professional Fire Fighters Assn., Local 827, 161 AD3d 855, 858).

Furthermore, contrary to CSEA's contention, the parties had not agreed to arbitrate the subject grievance. Arbitration is a creature of contract (see Matter of Brady v Williams Capital Group, L.P., 14 NY3d 459, 465; Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. v Pitofsky, 4 NY3d 149, 155). If the court determines that the parties did not make an agreement to arbitrate, "that concludes the matter and a stay of arbitration will be granted or the application to compel arbitration will be denied" (Matter of County of Rockland [Primiano Constr. Co.], 51 NY2d 1, 7; see Matter of City of New Rochelle v Uniformed Fire Fighters Assn., Inc., Local 273, I.A.F.F., 206 AD3d at 729). Where the relevant arbitration provision of a collective bargaining agreement (hereinafter the CBA) is broad, a court should merely determine whether there is a reasonable relationship between the subject matter of the dispute and the general subject matter of the CBA (see Matter of County of Nassau v Detectives Assn., Inc. of the Police Dept. of Nassau County, 188 AD3d at 1050; Matter of City of Yonkers v Yonkers Fire Fighters, Local 628, IAFF, AFL-CIO, 176 AD3d 1197, 1199). If there is none, the issue, as a matter of law, is not arbitrable (see Matter of City of Yonkers v Yonkers Fire Fighters, Local 628, IAFF, AFL-CIO, 187 AD3d 900, 901).

Here, article XXIII, section 2(b) of the CBA specifically excludes from the definition of "Grievance" matters that are within the Town's "exclusive authority to act," which includes "the right of the Town to direct its work force, to make all decisions as to the operation of the Town system and its work force, . . . and all other rights normally inherent in the right of management." Thus, there is no reasonable relationship between the subject matter of the dispute, which involves decisions regarding the Town's work force that are within its exclusive authority to act, and the general subject matter of the CBA (see Matter of Village of Walden v Village of Walden Police Benevolent Assn., Inc., 210 AD3d at 992; Matter of Town of N. Hempstead v Civil Serv. Empls. Assn., Inc., Local 1000, 164 AD3d at 1350).

Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted the Town's petition to stay arbitration and denied CSEA's cross-petition to compel arbitration.

In light of the foregoing, CSEA's remaining contention need not be addressed.

BRATHWAITE NELSON, J.P., CHRISTOPHER, WAN and GOLIA, JJ., concur.

ENTER:

Darrell M. Joseph

Clerk of the Court