State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal & School Audits

August 7, 2024

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government and school audits were issued.

Newark Central School District - Employee Benefits (Ontario County)

District officials did not always accurately calculate separation payments and did not ensure an independent review of separation payment calculations was performed. Therefore, calculation errors went undetected and resulted in erroneous and missed payments. Of the 41 employees reviewed, 14 separation payments totaling $66,036 were not calculated correctly, which resulted in errors totaling $20,157. The audit identified that four employees were not paid separation payments totaling $16,230, seven employees' separation payments were overpaid by a total of $3,770 and three other employees' separation payments were underpaid a total of $157.

Lindenhurst Union Free School District - Collections (Suffolk County)

District officials did not ensure that funds collected from all recreational and educational programs were properly recorded, deposited and reported. As a result, there was an increased risk of improper accounting of and potential theft of collections without detection. Auditors reviewed $311,876 collected by the business office from five district recreational and educational programs and determined that in-person collections totaling $130,568 were not recorded in a collection log. Employees made 25 deposits totaling $29,639 between 11 and 26 days after district programs recorded receipts.

City of Yonkers - Separation Payments and Health Insurance Buyouts of Yonkers City School District Employees (Westchester County)

City officials did not always ensure district employees' separation payments and health insurance buyouts were accurate. Officials also did not establish procedures to help ensure that calculations were accurate, reviewed or authorized. As a result, certain employees did not receive separation payments and health insurance buyouts in accordance with contractual agreements. Of the 46 separation payments reviewed, totaling $451,298, nine had calculation errors totaling $1,630. One former employee, as well as the estates of three former employees, may have been entitled to separation payments totaling $23,937 that they did not receive. Of the 30 health insurance buyout payments reviewed, totaling $200,440, auditors determined 12, totaling approximately $87,300, did not have the required proof of insurance on file. Auditors also found buyout payments made to 10 employees had calculation errors totaling approximately $33,203.

Lewis County - Purchase Cards

Auditors reviewed 366 purchase card charges totaling $229,635 and determined the charges were for appropriate purposes; however, charges were not properly approved and supported and did not follow county policies. Although prior approval is required by the county's purchase card policy, 238 online purchases totaling $189,852 did not have supporting documentation uploaded into the financial system showing the department head's approval prior to the purchases being made. In addition, although the county's procurement policy required verbal or written quotes, 52 charges totaling $142,684 did not have evidence of verbal or written quotes. The county could have potentially saved approximately $4,800 in travel expenses and sales tax. Additionally, the third-party purchase card vendor directly withdraws the monthly payments from the county's bank account without the treasurer's authorization.

City of Rensselaer - Accounting Records and Reports (Rensselaer County)

City officials did not maintain complete, accurate or timely accounting records. As a result, the reports the council received were not sufficient to allow them to effectively manage financial operations and capital projects. General ledger balances were inaccurate during each year and there were significant deficiencies with the city's accounting records. Interfund receivables and payables did not reconcile, varying between $266,560 and $2.2 million, and transactions were not entered in a timely manner. In addition, bank reconciliations were not prepared in a timely manner or clearly documented, and discrepancies, including a variance where the reconciled bank balance for one bank account was $2.9 million less than the accounting records, were not explained. Independent audit reports were not timely and identified deficiencies in internal control.