State audit reveals Cayuta inaccuracies

Sep 15, 2015 at 11:03 pm by Observer-Review


State audit reveals Cayuta inaccuracies ADVERTISEMENT

State audit reveals Cayuta inaccuracies

CAYUTA--The town of Cayuta has come under scrutiny from the state for inaccuracies in their financial policies from the state's most recent audit. The New York State Office of the Comptroller released an audit of the town of Cayuta in late August stating the board did not adopt, review, update or enforce adequate financial policies to ensure town resources were protected.
The audit covers Jan. 1, 2012, through Dec. 10, 2014. According to the comptroller's office, the Cayuta town board adopted budgets with inaccurate revenue and appropriation estimates to generate an operating surplus so the town could purchase equipment and make capital improvements.
"A more transparent way of planning for such items would be to establish reserve funds and include provisions in the budget for their funding," according to the audit summary. "The board also did not audit the books and records of any of the town officers and employees [who] handled cash. In addition, the former clerk did not routinely issue duplicate receipts for every transaction where no evidence of receipt was available, record daily cash receipts properly or make deposits intact."
As a result, in each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2014, the general fund had available fund balance that was between 62 and 71 percent of the ensuing year's budget and the highway fund had available fund balance that was between 21 and 53 percent of the ensuing year's budget. The comptroller's office identified a cash shortage of $285, of which the former clerk -- "through substitution or theft," according to the audit -- took $209 in cash. They also found the former clerk did not deposit tax receipts in a timely manner, and both clerks during the audited timeframe did not remit tax payments to the supervisor in a timely manner.
The audit found the former supervisor's records and reports were inaccurate because his bookkeeper did not properly record cash receipts and disbursements, making adjusting journal entries that exacerbated the problem instead of correcting the errors. The code enforcement officers also did not issue receipts for collections, maintain records for all issued building permits or collect all fees as required. It was also discovered the town justice not retain copies of receipts issued for court-related activities.
"The board must improve its oversight of town operations," according to the audit. "Since Jan. 1, 2012, the town has experienced significant turnover and administrative reorganization. Specifically, the town has had two supervisors, two bookkeepers and two clerks during this time. The board failed to provide oversight and guidance to key staff during this period of high turnover. As a result, many of the town's financial records and reports were inaccurate and incomplete, and errors and irregularities occurred and went undetected and uncorrected."
The town's budgeted appropriations for all funds were $357,927 for 2015 and $374,766 for 2014, which were primarily funded by real property taxes, sales tax and state aid. In 2012, the town clerk was also the budget officer.
The complete audit can be viewed online at http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/towns/2015/cayuta.pdf.

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