A screenshot from the agency's website introduced into evidence by the Plaintiff in the course of a CPLR Article 78 proceeding

Plaintiff, an armored transportation company transporting cash and currencies, appealed the New York City Office of Administrative Trials & Hearings [OATH] decision finding Plaintiff guilty of violating §24-163 Administrative Code of City of NY by reason of its employees allowing "the engine of a motor vehicle ... to idle" in violation of §24-163 which states that a "'processing device shall not include a heater or air conditioner operated for cabin comfort".

In the words of the Appellate Division, the question here is whether an armored truck while making a delivery is considered a "processing device." 

The Court noted that:

1. The Plaintiff's employees "must keep the vehicle's engine running to keep its security system operative, to allow the vehicle to be moved instantly in the event of a robbery, and to ventilate the vehicle since its windows are sealed for security reasons"; 

2. Plaintiff had submitted evidence -- a screenshot from the New York City's Department of Environmental Protection' [DEP] website -- indicating that "armored trucks" are described as "an activity classified as process"; 

3. DEP had sent Plaintiff an email indicating that it's armored vehicles were not subject to the prohibition set out in §24-163; and 

4. DEP had advised Plaintiff that DEP had a  protocol in place indicating that in the event "the work being performed is directly related to the reason the vehicle is idling, the inspector is not to issue the violation." 

Finding OATH's determination to be arbitrary and capricious, the Appellate Division granted Plaintiff's Article 78 petition, unanimously reversed OATH's decision, and annulled OATH's determination. 

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

Employer established there were legitimate, non-discriminatory, reasons supporting its decision to terminate a probationary employee

A New York State Supreme Court had denied, in part, the School District's [Defendant] motion for summary judgment. The Appellate Division unanimously granted the Defendant's motion and dismissed the Plaintiff's complaint.

Supreme Court had dismissed Plaintiff's disability discrimination claim and a retaliation cause of action, but denied that part of the Defendant's motion seeking dismissal of Plaintiff's sex discrimination claim. 

However, said the Appellate Division, Supreme Court had "properly determine" that Defendant established there were legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for its employment decision to terminate the Plaintiff, a probationary employee, before the end of the Plaintiff's probationary period and that Plaintiff had failed to raise an issue of fact.

The Appellate Division explained that the Defendant had established "the absence of a material issue of fact as to whether [Defendant's] explanations were pretextual" for its decision to terminate Plaintiff and Plaintiff had failed to raise a triable issue that Defendant's reasons were false and "that [gender-] motivated discrimination was the real reason" for Defendant's employment decision.

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

Selected items posted on the Internet during the week ending June 20, 2025

No-Nonsense Guidance for Lawyers Still Confused About AI is the headline for Rochester Attorney Nicole Black's most recent Daily Record column.  Read the whole entry

New York Reports Mobile ID Gains a Year After Launch New York State’s digital ID program, free and voluntary, continues to grow as more airports and bars accept those forms of identification. Other states are expanding their own mobile ID programs. READ MORE

Building Smarter Traffic Systems New York City DOT replaced its aging traffic network infrastructure with a high-availability, secure communications backbone supporting 14,000 intersections—without disrupting daily operations. This case study details the smart infrastructure strategies that helped the city meet 99.99% uptime, boost system visibility, and win national recognition for innovation in transportation management. DOWNLOAD

Fire Departments Find New Ways of Recruiting Volunteers READ MORE

Guardrails Breached: The New Reality of GenAI-Driven Attacks From vibe hacking to malware development to deepfakes, bad actors are discovering more vulnerabilities to attack generative AI tools while also using AI to launch cyber attacks. READ MORE

California Advances AI-Related ‘No Robo Bosses Act’ A bill is advancing through the California Legislature to address fears that artificial intelligence could soon unfairly deny workers jobs and promotions or lead to punishment and firings. READ MORE

Congress Should Not Block State Action on AI A provision in the federal budget bill would bar states from taking any action on AI. This would derail careful legislation designed to promote the technology while offering needed safeguards.  READ MORE

AI in Government Finance: Seizing the Opportunity Modern finance software programs incorporate Generative AI and agentic AI to boost efficiency, improve service and manage complexity. This paper explains key differences between these technologies and why they become uniquely powerful when combined. DOWNLOAD

How Leading Cities Are Rethinking Data to Tackle Their Toughest Challenges Learn how local governments are tackling big challenges—like homelessness, mental health, and nuisance properties—through smarter data use. This guide breaks down real examples and proven approaches to unifying siloed systems, sharpening resource allocation, and delivering results that residents notice.  DOWNLOAD

Advance your AI transformation through skilling Discover essential AI skills for public servants at the Public Sector Center for Digital Skills. Explore the resources

NEW YORK STATE COMPTROLLER DiNAPOLI RELEASES SCHOOL DISTRICT AUDITS

On June 19, 2025, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli posted the following school district audits on the Internet.

Click on the text highlighted in BLUE to access the text of the Comptroller's report

Amani Public Charter School – Purchasing and Claims Approval (Westchester County) Since school officials did not procure goods and services in accordance with the established policy and procedures, there is no assurance that the purchases were made in the most prudent and economical manner without favoritism. Specifically, officials did not use competition for 18 purchases totaling $543,474 out of a sample of 21 totaling $763,413 required by school policy to be competitively purchased. Credit card charges were not supported by documentation, reviewed or approved as required. The director did not approve, and the board treasurer did not review any of the 35 charges tested, totaling $9,126. Also, 28 out of 35 charges (80%) totaling $7,627, were not supported by a receipt, a documented purpose or both. Officials did not use a purchase order for 23 purchases totaling $92,220 out of 24 tested totaling $93,865, as required by school policy. Officials also did not properly segregate procurement responsibilities. Auditors determined that overlapping and conflicting responsibilities enabled two directors to each control all aspects of the procurement process, including initiating a purchase request, approving the purchase, approving the invoice and signing checks for payment.

Sullivan West Central School District – Lead Testing and Reporting (Sullivan County) District officials did not properly identify, report or implement needed remediation to reduce lead exposure in all potable water outlets as required by state law and Department of Health regulations. Auditors determined 136 of the 410 (33%) water outlets identified at select areas, which students, staff and the public may have access to and could consume water from, were not sampled or properly exempted by district officials. This occurred because district officials did not have a sampling plan to identify all water outlets for sampling or exemption. District officials also did not have a remedial action plan that detailed which water outlets were exempt from sampling and how they would be secured and what remedial actions were planned or enacted.

DeRuyter Central School District – Lead Testing and Reporting (Madison County) District officials did not properly identify, report or implement needed remediation to reduce lead exposure in all potable water outlets as required by state law and Department of Health (DOH) regulations. Auditors determined 38 of the 180 (21%) water outlets identified at select areas, which students, staff and the public may have access to and could consume water from, were not sampled or properly exempted by district officials. This occurred because district officials did not have a sampling plan to identify all water outlets for sampling or exemption. While the former head of buildings and grounds did have a remedial action plan that showed which water outlets exceeded the lead action level and the remedial actions taken, it did not detail which water outlets they exempted from sampling and how they would be secured against use. Because there is no information on the lead levels of the 38 water outlets not sampled for testing, auditors were unable to determine whether officials identified and remediated all water outlets that would have required it. Of the 112 water outlets the district sampled for testing, 29 water outlets exceeded the lead action level. Auditors determined that eight of these 29 outlets (28%) with actionable lead levels were still in service without a test showing they were now below the lead action level or effective controls to prevent them from being used. District officials did not report any results to the local health department as required, including lead action exceedances, and reported results through the DOH’s reporting system 245 days after the required reporting deadline. Additionally, district officials did not have any documentation to support that they notified staff, parents and/or guardians of the test results in writing, as required. Finally, the officials did not post the test results of their potable water outlet sampling on the district’s website.

Island Trees Union Free School District – Inventorying and Monitoring Capital Assets (Nassau County) District officials did not accurately and completely record and account for all capital assets reviewed (i.e., machinery, vehicles, equipment and computers). Additionally, officials have not conducted a physical inventory to properly monitor and account for assets since 2011. Therefore, officials cannot assure taxpayers that all of the district’s capital assets are safe and accounted for, and the district had significant risk for capital assets to be lost, stolen or misused. Auditors found 112 capital assets with an acquisition cost of $60,871 were not recorded on the district’s inventory list. Of the 7,229 capital assets on the district’s active and disposed inventory list, auditors reviewed 254 and found 195 (77%) were not properly accounted for or monitored. Another 21 assets with an acquisition cost of $16,931 and 48 information technology (IT) assets could not be located. The acquisition costs for the 48 IT assets were not recorded or available.

Truxton Academy Charter School – Tuition Billing and Collections (Cortland County) Although school officials accurately billed and collected basic tuition totaling $2.14 million, officials overbilled school districts of residence $84,689 for state aid attributable to students receiving special education services from 2022-23 through 2023-24. These findings occurred because school officials did not follow State Education Department guidance for calculating state aid, did not always maintain necessary documentation to support calculations of the amounts billed or ensure billings were accurate, and did not establish adequate procedures for tuition billing.

Avoca Central School District – Payroll (Steuben County) District officials generally paid employees’ salaries and wages accurately during the period July 1, 2022 through Oct. 10, 2024. Auditors reviewed 35 employees’ salaries and wage payments totaling $417,720 and determined that officials generally paid employees’ salaries and wages accurately during the period. However, auditors determined that district officials did not adequately segregate duties or establish mitigating controls over payroll processing.

Avoca Central School District – Procurement (Steuben County) District officials did not always procure goods and services in accordance with the statutory requirements set forth in state law or with the district’s procurement policies and procedures. District officials also did not develop procedures governing the procurement of goods and services not subject to state competitive bidding laws as required by the district’s procurement policy that was last approved by the board in 2017. In addition, district officials did not aggregate purchases to determine whether certain procurements were subject to the competitive bidding requirements set forth in state law.

NEW YORK STATE COMPTROLLER DiNAPOLI RELEASES MUNICIPAL AUDITS

On June 19, 2025 New York State's Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli posted the following municipal audits on the Internet.

Click on the text highlighted in BLUE to access the text of the Comptroller's report

Town of Coxsackie – Supervisor’s Records and Reports (Greene County) The supervisor’s failure to maintain complete and accurate records or adequately provide monthly reporting to the board reduced transparency, prevented it from properly monitoring financial operations, and increased the risk that unauthorized or inappropriate transactions could occur and go undetected. The town’s accounting system was not properly set up and financial activity was not recorded using proper accounting procedures. The town’s fund balance accounts had errors totaling $833,153. For example, the general town-wide fund was understated by $337,470 and the highway part-town fund was overstated by $363,081. The supervisor filed an incorrect Annual Financial Report (AFR) and did not file the AFR on time. The board did not audit the supervisor’s records as required by law. The accounting errors and untimely filing may have been detected had the board annually audited the supervisor’s records.

Lewis County Industrial Development Agency (LCIDA) – Staff Services Agreements The board entered into written staff services agreements with Naturally Lewis Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, to provide general administrative and staff support services to LCIDA for the last quarter of 2023 and for 2024. However, the board did not ensure the fees paid to the corporation were accurately calculated and paid according to the agreements, resulting in LCIDA overpaying $316,597 for such services – 172% more than the written agreements required. In addition, LCIDA paid a fee for one project which was not approved by the board. Had the board exercised appropriate oversight, it might have identified and corrected these errors. 

Town of Alden – Town Supervisor (Erie County) The former supervisor did not always follow basic accounting principles by preparing or maintaining complete and accurate accounting records or providing sufficient financial reports to the board. The supervisor did not always adhere to basic internal controls that are designed to help ensure funds are safeguarded and accounted for. Because the board did not receive adequate financial reporting, it was not aware of the town’s financial status and therefore adopted unrealistic budgets. Without adequate accounting controls and accurate and timely financial information, the supervisor and board cannot make informed financial decisions. The former supervisor did not always record collections in a timely manner during 2023, with an average of 40 days between the collection date and the recording date or maintain accurate accounting records or prepare monthly bank reconciliations. As a result, the total cash balance in the 2023 Annual Financial Report was overstated by over $76,000 when compared to the cash balances of the accounting records.

Town of Alden – Town Clerk/Tax Collector (Erie County) The clerk did not properly record, deposit, remit or report collections resulting in a greater risk for theft or loss. In addition, the clerk accumulated unremitted funds totaling $138,050 in the tax collection bank accounts. The funds should have been remitted to the town supervisor, a school district or refunded to taxpayers. Most of the unremitted funds, or $84,757, should have been returned to taxpayers who overpaid their taxes. However, only a limited number of taxpayers received their refund since 2021. Retaining the collections prevented the funds from being productively used by town officials and taxpayers. The clerk also did not always date stamp real property tax receipts, including 66% of town and county and 47% of school real property tax receipts, resulting in the potential for missing funds and the misuse of funds increasing significantly. The clerk also did not properly deposit all real property tax collections or all clerk fees in accordance with the law.

Town of Leicester – Financial Management (Livingston County) The board did not effectively manage the town’s fund balance and continued to unrealistically estimate revenues and appropriations in the adopted budgets. The board also did not correct the deficiencies noted in a prior audit released in November 2015, adopt written fund balance or reserve policies or properly establish reserves. In addition, the board did not ensure it received up-to-date, accurate financial reports in a timely manner, which hindered its adoption of realistic budgets and multiyear financial or capital plans. Officials maintained significant unrestricted fund balance in the town-wide (TW) and town-outside-village (TOV) funds that, as of Jan. 1, 2024, were sufficient to fund the entire 2024 budgeted appropriations. The board continued to unrealistically estimate revenues and appropriations in the 2025 budget, which will likely result in operating surpluses that will further increase the significant fund balances in the general and highway TW and TOV funds.

Town of Windsor – Financial Management (Broome County) The board did not effectively manage the town’s fund balance or develop a written multiyear financial plan. In addition, the board’s preliminary budgets also did not include fund balance estimates with a breakdown by fund to assist officials in preparing and approving the final budget and providing transparency to the taxpayers and residents. Due to the board’s budgeting practices, officials generated net operating surpluses totaling nearly $2.7 million instead of planned operating deficits totaling $482,700 in the general fund town-wide (TW), general fund town-outside-village (TOV) and highway fund TOV during the four-year audit period. As a result, more taxes may have been levied than needed. Officials also increased unrestricted fund balance from Dec. 31, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2023 by 96%, 93% and 93% in the general fund TW, general fund TOV and highway fund TOV, respectively. Officials underestimated sales tax revenues by approximately $1.3 million in the highway fund TOV and overestimated employer retirement contributions by approximately $298,100 in the main operating funds.

Henrietta Fire District – Distribution of Foreign Fire Insurance (FFI) Tax Proceeds (Monroe County) District officials did not properly distribute the 2024 FFI tax proceeds because the treasurer miscalculated the distribution. The treasurer used the 2023 pro-rata allocation percentage to distribute a portion of the 2024 FFI tax proceeds instead of using the 2024 pro-rata allocation percentage. Although the chief and a board member reviewed the treasurer’s distribution calculations, prior to the treasurer making the distributions, the miscalculation was not identified by either individual. As a result, two fire companies received more money than their pro-rata share ($1,322 and $61, respectively), and the paid firefighting personnel and remaining fire company received less than their pro-rata share ($1,134 and $249, respectively).

Monroe No. 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) – Credit Cards BOCES officials did not ensure that all credit card charges were properly approved and supported. Therefore, it could not be determined whether all charges were for appropriate BOCES purposes. Additionally, officials did not ensure that credit card charges were reconciled to receipts in a timely manner and audited, as required, prior to payment. Auditors reviewed 532 credit card charges totaling $138,238 and determined that 461 charges totaling $110,539 had one or more exceptions. Auditors found 424 charges totaling $99,308 were paid prior to audit and approval by the claims auditor, 166 charges totaling $35,927 did not have adequate support including a specific BOCES purpose and 97 charges totaling $12,938 required pre-approval but were not properly approved before the purchase.

Town of Rutland – Town Clerk/Tax Collector (Jefferson County) The clerk did not always record, deposit, remit and report all collections accurately and in a timely manner. Due to deficiencies in the records, it is unclear whether eight recorded cash and check collections totaling $161 were deposited in the bank and whether cash collections totaling $8,224 were deposited in a timely manner. In addition, collections totaling $5,806 were deposited but not recorded in the records and seven monthly reports and remittances to the supervisor and other agencies were submitted 16 to 178 days late. The clerk also did not make 11 deposits of real property taxes totaling $191,581 in a timely manner and remit taxes to the supervisor and county treasurer within the timeframes specified by law. The clerk also did not complete monthly bank reconciliations and accountability analyses to help identify and correct errors. As a result, the clerk bank account had a cash shortage of $647 as of Dec. 1, 2023, and the tax bank account had an unidentified cash balance of $4,375 as of Oct. 31, 2024. Additionally, the board did not perform an annual audit of the clerk’s records, as required, which could have assisted officials in detecting and addressing the deficiencies sooner.

Town of Rutland – Water and Sewer Charges (Jefferson County) The clerk did not properly bill water and sewer charges. Auditors identified a total of $8,823 in billing errors that resulted in $4,634 in overcharges to customer accounts and $4,189 in undercharges. Of 81 customer account billing adjustments tested for 2022 and 2023, 80 adjustments totaling $57,083 were not reviewed or approved by the board and 41 of these adjustments totaling $5,808 had no documented reason or support for the adjustments. In addition, the board did not formally authorize all billing rates charged by the town and did not develop and adopt written policies and procedures to provide guidance on water and sewer billings and account adjustments. Lastly, no one independent of the billing process reviewed quarterly billing reports to help ensure meter readings, estimated readings and amounts billed were accurate.

Town of Bethlehem – Information Technology (Albany County) The town board and officials did not develop and adopt an Information Technology (IT) contingency plan or breach notification policy, periodically test data backups or provide employees with security awareness training. Sensitive IT control weaknesses were communicated confidentially to officials. As a result, the town’s IT systems and its personal, private and sensitive information may be accessible to unauthorized use, access and loss. Officials also have minimal assurance that in the event of a disruption or disaster that employees and other responsible parties would be able to react quickly and effectively to help resume, restore or repair critical IT systems or data in a timely manner. Officials also did not monitor employee internet use. Although the town’s computer and internet use policy in the employee manual prohibits employees from using town-owned computers for personal use, officials and employees were not in compliance with the policy.