HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-05-OSC-Audit, Danby Town ClerkREPORT OF EXAMINATION | 2022M-8
DIVISION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY
MAY 2022
Town of Danby
Town Clerk
Contents
Report Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Town Clerk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
How Should Town Clerks Account for and Remit Collections? . . . . 2
Tax Collections Were Missing and Not Deposited or Remitted in
a Timely Manner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Clerks Did Not Identify Tax Collection Account Errors . . . . . . 4
Clerk Collections Were Not Adequately Supported and Lacked
Deposit Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What Do We Recommend? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Appendix A – Response From Town Officials . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Appendix B – Audit Methodology and Standards . . . . . . . . . . .15
Appendix C – Resources and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Office of the New York State Comptroller 1
Report Highlights
Audit Objective
Determine whether the Town of Danby (Town) Clerk
recorded, deposited, remitted and reported collections
in a timely and accurate manner .
Key Findings
Tax collections were missing and not deposited timely
or intact and were not remitted to appropriate parties in
a timely manner . Although the Clerks reported the Clerk
fees that were recorded, they did not properly deposit
and remit all collections to the appropriate parties in a
timely and accurate manner .
The Clerks:
l Did not identify tax collection account errors
totaling $64,959 and could not account for
approximately $1,000 in cash from tax collections .
l Did not maintain adequate supporting
documentation for collections .
l Did not complete monthly bank reconciliations and
accountabilities .
The Board did not perform an annual audit of the
Clerk’s records .
Key Recommendations
l Make intact and timely deposits .
l Secure collections prior to being deposited .
l Maintain all records, books and papers including
the duplicate cash receipts and required source
documents .
l Prepare monthly bank reconciliations and
accountabilities .
l Perform, or obtain, an annual audit of the Clerk’s
records .
Town officials generally agreed with our findings and
indicated they plan to initiate corrective action .
Background
The Town is located in Tompkins
County (County) and is governed
by an elected five-member Board
including the Town Supervisor
(Supervisor) . The Board is responsible
for general oversight of the Town’s
operations and finances .
The Clerk serves as Clerk to the
Board and collects fees for a variety of
purposes, including marriage, dog and
environmental licenses, and certified
copies of marriage licenses . The Clerk
is also responsible for collecting and
remitting real property taxes to the
Supervisor and County Treasurer
(Treasurer) .
The former elected Clerk resigned on
September 21, 2020, before the end
of her term . The Board appointed the
current Clerk on September 23, 2020 .
Audit Period
January 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021
We extended the audit period back
to January 1, 2019 to review tax
collection activity .
Town of Danby
Quick Facts
Population 3,363
2020 Real Property Tax
Warrant Amount $3 .9 million
2021 Real Property Tax
Warrant Amount $4 .2 million
2020 Clerk Fees Collected $18,400
2 Office of the New York State Comptroller
How Should Town Clerks Account for and Remit Collections?
New York State Town Law (Town Law) Section 35 requires town clerks to deposit
all real property taxes collected within 24 hours of receipt and remit amounts
collected, including interest and penalties, to the town supervisor at least once
per week . Once the town’s tax levy has been collected in full, tax collections
must be remitted to the county treasurer no later than the 15th day of the ensuing
month . All remaining money related to tax collections should be remitted to the
appropriate parties at the end of collection period, resulting in a zero balance in
the bank account at the end of the collection period .
Town clerks must properly account for all transactions by promptly and accurately
recording the amounts collected in a cash receipts journal, depositing collections
intact (in the same amount and form − cash or check − as received) and remitting
collections to the appropriate parties . Town clerks should retain supporting
documentation, which includes the payer, purpose, and amount, date of receipt
and form of payment (i .e ., cash, check or money order) for each payment
received . Deposit slips should include sufficient detail to verify that all collections
were deposited . Monthly bank reconciliations enable the clerk to verify the
accuracy of financial records and ensure assets are sufficient to meet liabilities .
Town Law Section 30 requires town clerks to deposit all fees collected within three
business days after total collections exceed $250 . In addition, Town Law Section
27 requires town clerks to remit such money to the town supervisor on or before
the 15th of the month following collection . Town clerks must also report and remit
collections to certain New York State agencies (Department of Agriculture and
Markets, Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation)
in a timely manner .
Further, preparing a monthly accountability analysis comparing current assets to
current liabilities enables town clerks to verify the accuracy of financial records,
including identifying any discrepancies in recording, and ensuring proper
remittances are made to the town supervisor and other parties .
Tax Collections Were Missing and Not Deposited or Remitted in a
Timely Manner
We examined all 124 tax collection journals totaling $11 .2 million for 2019 (43
journals totaling $3 .6 million), 2020 (38 journals totaling $3 .7 million) and 2021
(43 journals totaling $3 .9 million) and all tax remittances made by the Clerks . We
found that tax collections were missing, not deposited timely or intact and not
remitted to appropriate parties in a timely manner .
Deposits – We found that tax collections were deposited intact during the 2019
and 2020 collection periods . However, deposits were not made intact during
the 2021 collection period . While payments received by check were deposited
Town Clerk
Office of the New York State Comptroller 3
electronically,1 cash payments were commingled with other days’ cash collections,
kept unsecured in the Clerk’s office and deposited together in lump sums . We
identified one tax collection in 2021 totaling $3,095, of which $1,004 in cash was
not deposited and cannot be accounted for .
Furthermore, collections were not deposited within 24 hours as required for all
three years . On average, deposits were made six days after collection . More
specifically, of the 1182
journals tested, 93
deposits (79 percent)
were made late (Figure
1) . The current Clerk
stated that she was
unaware of the statutory
requirements for
deposits .
Remittances – During
the 2019, 2020 and
2021 collection periods,
the Clerks did not
make weekly payments
to the Supervisor or
monthly payments to the
Treasurer as required .
For example, the Clerk(s):
l Collected taxes totaling $795,500 in the first two weeks of 2020 but did not
remit them to the Supervisor on a weekly basis .
l Did not remit $2 million in taxes collected in 2021 to the Supervisor until the
second week of February 2021 .
l Did not include interest and penalties as required on any payments to the
Supervisor in 2019, 2020 and 2021, and did not remit interest and penalties
as of the end of audit fieldwork .
l Did not remit the first payment to the Treasurer until April 2019, April 2020
and April 2021, respectively, although collections were sufficient to cover the
Town’s levy by the end of January in 2019 and 2020, and the first week in
February 2021 .
Delays in remitting real property tax collections to the Supervisor and Treasurer
resulted in money not being available to fund Town and County operations .
FIGURE 1
Tax Deposit Timeliness
1 Payments by check are processed electronically using a remote deposit check scanner which allows deposits
to be made soon after collection . The bank retains images of the checks deposited for one year after date of
deposit .
2 Excludes two journals from each year for State and County tax parcels where no actual collections were made .
Delays in
remitting real
property tax
collections
to the
Supervisor
and Treasurer
resulted
in money
not being
available to
fund Town
and County
operations .
0
10
20
30
40
2019 2020 2021
Nu
m
b
e
r
of
De
p
o
s
i
t
s
Timely Untimely
4 Office of the New York State Comptroller
Additionally, when collections are left unsecured and not remitted or deposited
timely and intact, the risk increases for money to be lost or used for inappropriate
purposes .
The Clerks Did Not Identify Tax Collection Account Errors
We reviewed the Clerks’ bank statements for the audit period and determined
they had residual balances in the account at the end of all three collection
periods . We attempted to reconcile the residual balance as of June 30, 2021
using the Clerks’ 2019, 2020 and 2021 tax collection bank statements, tax
collection journals and County settlements . We found an accumulation of errors
totaling $64,959; examples include:
l Mortgage tax collections mistakenly deposited into the tax collection account
totaling $26,683,
l An erroneous payment made to the water fund totaling $12,980,
l Refunds due to taxpayers for overpayments or duplicate payments totaling
$7,211,
l An incorrect utility payment made to the County totaling $3,698, and
l Five partial payments received but recorded as paid-in-full, resulting in an
additional shortage of $223 .
The Clerks did not identify
recordkeeping errors
because they did not
reconcile the bank activity
monthly, misunderstood
the utility tax payment
arrangement with the
Treasurer and incorrectly
deposited general
fund money in the tax
collection bank account .
Furthermore, they did
not perform periodic
accountabilities of the tax
collection account that
would have identified
these deficiencies . As a
result, there was a net
cash shortage in the tax
collection bank account
of $1,267 as of June 30,
2021 (Figure 2) .
Figure 2: Tax Collector Accountability Analysis
as of June 30, 2021
Ending Bank Balance: June 30, 2021 $30,338
Erroneous Payment Made to the Water Fund 12,980
Incorrect Utility Tax Payments Made to the
County 3,698
Mortgage Tax Collections Incorrectly
Deposited into the Tax Account (26,683)
2019 and 2020 Taxes Owed to the
Supervisor (8,402)
Refunds Due to Taxpayers (7,211)
2019, 2020 and 2021 Interest/Penalties
Owed to the Supervisor (5,846)
Owed to the Town Clerk Account (74)
Cash Deposited but Not Recorded (30)
2019 Deposit Overages (3)
Cumulative Account Balance From Prior
Collection Periods (34)
Total Cash Shortage ($1,267)
Office of the New York State Comptroller 5
Clerk Collections Were Not Adequately Supported and Lacked
Deposit Detail
The Clerks prepared deposit slips for cash and money order collections .3 The
Clerks recorded collections of $18,400 in 2020 and $7,700 through June 16,
2021, totaling $26,100, and we verified that these amounts were deposited . Most
of the collections, or $22,000 (86 percent), were by check and credit card .
We also reviewed three months (January 2020, September 2020 and March
2021) of supporting documentation for Clerk collections,4 totaling $4,842, to
determine whether collections were properly recorded, reported, deposited timely
and intact, and remitted to appropriate parties in a timely manner .
While the Clerks recorded and reported 161 collections in the three months
tested, 85 collections (53 percent) totaling $1,081 lacked supporting
documentation but were properly remitted based on amounts recorded in the
Clerk’s software . The remaining 76 collections totaling $3,761 were supported
by duplicate receipt records, dog license renewal slips and building permits, and
were properly remitted .
Additionally, deposit slips lacked sufficient detail to identify individual collections
received . For example, the Clerks listed cash in total and did not itemize the
source of the money deposited . Due to these limitations, of the 20 deposits made
for the three months tested, we determined seven were timely and nine were
intact . The remaining deposits lacked sufficient detail to make a determination .
Due to these weaknesses, we performed additional testing by reviewing source
documents (e .g ., planning meeting minutes and code enforcement files)
associated with the remaining planning and zoning actions, building permits
and marriage licenses, totaling $6,212, to determine whether they were properly
recorded, reported and deposited timely and intact . We found the following
deficiencies due to lack of itemized deposit details (e .g ., license numbers, form of
payment, tax map number) . We could not verify the composition or timeliness of:
l Nine of the 30 collections for planning and zoning actions totaling $1,255 .
l Three of the seven collections for marriage licenses totaling $120 .
We prepared an accountability analysis (Figure 3) of the Clerk’s bank account,
which had a balance of $993 as of June 16, 2021 . We were able to materially
account for the balance on deposit .
3 See supra note 1 .
4 Marriage and dog licenses, certified copies of marriage licenses, building permits and planning and zoning
actions
6 Office of the New York State Comptroller
These deficiencies occurred because the Clerks did not maintain adequate
support for collections processed through their office . Furthermore, the current
Clerk lacked formal training and was unaware she should retain supporting
documentation for her records . The Clerk told us that she completed introductory
accounting and finance courses after her initial appointment . We referred her to
additional training offered by the Office of the State Comptroller and the New York
State Association of Towns .
Finally, these deficiencies continued to occur without detection because the Board
did not conduct or cause an annual audit of the Clerk’s records and reports as
required by Town Law Section 123 .
Because the Board did not perform annual audits, its ability to effectively monitor
financial operations was diminished . Had the Board conducted or caused annual
audits, it may have recognized the deficiencies identified in our report and brought
them to the Clerk’s attention to encourage corrective action .
What Do We Recommend?
The Clerk should:
1 . Deposit collections in a timely manner .
2 . Properly secure collections prior to being deposited .
3 . Remit collections to the appropriate parties in a timely manner .
Figure 3: Clerk’s Accountability Analysis as of June 16, 2021
Clerk Assets
Clerk Fees Bank Account Balance $993
Cash Receipts on Hand, Undeposited 807
Total Clerk Assets $1,800
Clerk Liabilities
Due to the Supervisor ($2,637)
Due to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (14)
Total Clerk Liabilities ($2,651)
Other Adjustments
Owed From the Tax Collection Account $74
Owed From the Supervisor for Overpayment 808
Owed From the General Fund 55
Total Other Adjustments $937
Total Clerk Liabilities and Other Adjustments ($1,714)
Excess Funds $86
…[T]he
Board did
not conduct
or cause an
annual audit
of the Clerk’s
records and
reports as
required by
Town Law
Section 123 .
Office of the New York State Comptroller 7
4 . Issue and retain duplicate receipts for all collections .
5 . Maintain records, books and related support, including the duplicate cash
receipts and required source documents .
6 . Ensure deposit slips are detailed enough to identify the deposit’s
composition and payment purpose .
7 . Prepare monthly bank reconciliations and accountabilities for each
account .
8 . Receive additional formal training on how to perform her duties . Such
training can include local officials training provided by the Office of the
State Comptroller .5
The Supervisor should:
9 . Work with the Town’s insurance company to seek recovery of the missing
funds .
The Board should:
10 . Conduct an annual audit of the Clerk’s records and reports as required .
5 www .osc .state .ny .us/local-government/academy
8 Office of the New York State Comptroller
Appendix A: Response From Town Officials
Office of the New York State Comptroller 9
10 Office of the New York State Comptroller
Thursday 28 April 2022
Office of the New York State Comptroller
Division of Local Government and School Accountability
110 State Street, 12th Floor, Albany, NY 12236
RE: Audit Response to Town of Danby Town Clerk Examination Report 2022M-8
Dear OSC,
Thank you for this opportunity to provide feedback. It has truly been a learning experience
for two individuals who stepped into this world with little prior Town experience and scant
training from our predecessors. I was appointed to the Town Clerk/Tax Collector role on
23 September 2020 and immediately began looking for more efficient and effective tools
to keep track of and record the entirety of information and financial flow through the
office—an effort that is ongoing. I also enrolled in several trainings and utilized the local
Tompkins County Clerks Association (of which I am a member) for guidance.
Table 1. List of Online Trainings
Date(s) Sponsor Topic
10.Dec.2020 AOT Tax Collection in Towns: A Primer for 2021
12–14.Jan.2021 OSC Basic Accounting School
19–20.May.2021 AOT Finance School
9.June.2021 OSC Annual Update Document: Common Reporting Errors
29.June.2021 OSC Local Government Budgeting Seminar for Town Officials
28.July.2021 OSC NYSLRS Record of Activities: Elected... Officials
21.Sept.2021 AOT Town Budgets 2022: The Ebb & Flow Edition
10.Nov.2021 OSC Internal Controls for Tax Collection
6–7.Jan.2022 AOT Newly Elected Virtual Training
Of course, sitting through trainings and living through experience are two entirely unique
Mary Ann Barr 2021
T he Town of Danby, New York
1830 Danby Road, Ithaca, NY 14850
https://danby.ny.gov
Janice Adelman, Town Clerk
Cindy Katz, Deputy Town Clerk
+1-607-277-4788 | clerkoffice@danby.ny.gov
Office of the New York State Comptroller 11
Town of Danby, New York Town Clerk Response to Audit Report 2022M-8
things; I acknowledge all of the errors that your report uncovered during my tenure in the
year 2021, particularly as it relates to property tax collections. Despite having read and
reviewed in preparation for tax collection, I continued to make mistakes both on my own,
and by following my two predecessors leads (i.e., that’s how they did it...). With the
guidance of the auditors, the tax collection process for 2022 was much smoother and
more highly accountable.
Starting With a Zero Balance
For starters, I began the tax collection season by zeroing out the tax collector bank
account. As the auditors noted, the tax collector bank account held a balance when I
began at the end of 2020. I did not know what it was for, so I left it; at the end of 2021 the
tax collector bank account held $ I then paid out refunds in the amount of 30,337.73.
$679.42 to four taxpayers, and the remaining $29,658.31 in the account went to the Danby
Town Supervisor.
Making Timely Deposits
Aside from the period of 7–12 January 2022 when I was quarantining with COVID (and the
deputy clerk was quarantining from 10–16 January with COVID), we both made daily
(sometimes multiple daily) remote check deposits; I made cash deposits at the bank
within 24 hours of receipt 11 out of 18 times, as seen in Table 2. The slower months of
February and March resulted in less trips to the bank in downtown Ithaca. I will rectify this
in the coming tax season (2023).
Table 2. Time To Deposit Tax Cash Payments, 2022
Payment
Date
No of
Bills Paid
Cash
Amount
Deposit
Date
Time Lag
(Days)
Actual
Deposit Amt
3.Jan.2022 3 $ 738.91 4.Jan.2022 1 738.91
5.Jan.2022 3 $ 5,954.91 6.Jan.2022 1 5,954.91
6.Jan.2022 2 $ 3,040.91 7.Jan.2022 1 3,040.91
7.Jan.2022 1 $ 824.38 18.Jan.2022 9* 824.38
18.Jan.2022 1 819.38 20.Jan.2022 2
19.Jan.2022 2 3560.55 20.Jan.2022 1
20.Jan.2022 2 4463.73 20.Jan.2022 0 8,833.64
21.Jan.2022 1 1575.95 25.Jan.2022 3* 1,575.95
25.Jan.2022 2 1,371.79 26.Jan.2022 1
26.Jan.2022 1 281.48 26.Jan.2022 0 1,653.27
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12 Office of the New York State Comptroller
Town of Danby, New York Town Clerk Response to Audit Report 2022M-8
27.Jan.2022 2 2,977.17 28.Jan.2022 1
28.Jan.2022 5 4,316.05 28.Jan.2022 0 7,293.22
31.Jan.2022 4 3,392.56 1.Feb.2022 1 3,392.56
3.Feb.2022 2 768.04 7.Feb.2022 3* 768.04
9.Feb.2022 2 0.48 29.Mar.2022 41*
24.Feb.2022 1 1458.44 29.Mar.2022 28*
28.Feb.2022 1 288.03 29.Mar.2022 25*
10.Mar.2022 1 2.76 29.Mar.2022 16* 1,749.71
Shaded rows indicate when payments from multiple days were deposited together.
*Includes Saturdays but not Sundays
Properly Securing Collections Prior to Deposit
In addition, I purchased not only a separate locking cash drawer, but also a separate
locking file cabinet for tax collections, and by resolution created a tax change and a clerk
change fund in the amount of $100 each, thereby keeping tax payments and clerk
payments physically separate in all cases. The deputy and I consistently locked the
drawers and file cabinets at all times.
Remitting Tax Collections to the Town Supervisor and Tompkins County
I have improved greatly in this realm, yet am still not in full compliance. Specifically, I
made payouts to the Danby Town Supervisor twice: the first on 27 Jan in the amount of
$1,290,000.00; the second time on 9 Feb with three checks in the amounts of $621,551.00,
$16,690.00, and $814,876.05. In sum, these four checks covered the amount owed to the
Supervisor as stated in the Tax Collector’s Warrant ($2,743,117.05). Regarding timely
remittance to the County, we switched over to their Tax Collections System as a means to
reduce errors and increase efficiency between the town and the county. Unfortunately, it
was not smooth sailing and I only sent the payment owed to the county for installment
payments (usually sent in February) on 14 April. I then cut a final check to the Town
Supervisor on 25 April for interest and penalties received in the months of February and
June in the amount of $1,146.70. An error occurred related to interest and penalties in the
month of March when the new system we were using continued to apply the
February interest fees rather than the March interest owed. Eight payments were received
via online in March, resulting in a loss of $100.23 in expected interest fees. All
told, however, we collected $3,389,902.34 of the $ 3,974,133.01 warrant.
Clerk Fees Collection, Deposit, and Remittance
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Office of the New York State Comptroller 13
Town of Danby, New York Town Clerk Response to Audit Report 2022M-8
As noted in the introduction, one of my goals since starting in this position is to find ways
to increase the town’s efficiency and effectiveness in serving Danby residents. I found that
the siloed departments make tracking information—not to mention payments and
fees—challenging. The current set-up has been less than ideal in many ways. For starters,
the Town Clerk software that I inherited does not communicate with its own online
payment system. For example, dog licenses can be renewed online. When that happens,
a notification is sent via email (often found in my spam folder) so that I can then be enter
that payment/license renewal into the Town Clerk software. As I was unaware of this
glitch when I started, a handful of dog licenses were not updated accordingly; in one
instance, a dog owner ended up paying for the same renewal twice.
Similarly, hunting licenses are purchased through the This means that at
the end of a given day when hunting licenses were sold, those purchases must be
manually entered into the Clerk software to account for the commission that we receive
and the subsequent sales amount that will be deducted automatically from the clerk’s
bank account from per the authorized agent agreement. During the fall hunting
season, the increased amount of purchases made can result in errors when transferring
purchases over, whether the recording happens too soon and another purchase comes in,
or too late and we need to backtrack.
Finally, there is the issue of collecting payments from other departments, such as
Planning and Zoning. I continue to work with both of those departments to streamline the
process for approving permits, subdivisions, and zoning fees. However, given that our
two sides still don’t have an easy way to see where the other is in the process, there is
indeed room for error. In the case of building permits, the Code Enforcement Officer
tracks the entire process, including collection of payment; at the end of the month, he
turns over the payments to the clerk’s office to process and deposit. This leads to delayed
deposit times and inconsistencies in our reporting to the Board.
Issue and Retain Duplicate Receipts for All Collections
Receipts are stored both electronically and in paper format. For tax payments, we retain a
copy of the taxpayers remittance stub (when available), a copy of the recorded payment in
the tax collection system, and a copy of the bank deposit (whether by remote check
deposit or in-person cash deposit). On the Clerk Fee collection side, we are working
toward improving the recording process given the challenges described above, and will
ultimately have better control of tracking these payment via receipts and deposits.
4 of 5
14 Office of the New York State Comptroller
Town of Danby, New York Town Clerk Response to Audit Report 2022M-8
Maintain Records, Books, and Related Support; Prepare Monthly Bank Reconciliations
In addition to the above duplicate receipt system, we maintain a back-up spreadsheet to
follow and reconcile our accounts with all systems, for both the tax collections and the
town clerk collections. The spreadsheet includes the ability to reconcile our bank
statements down to the transaction line. Although I have not made it a monthly habit yet
for reconciling against bank statements, I have begun to work this into my monthly
routine and expect that by the end of this year, a monthly reconciliation will be second-
nature.
Receive Additional Formal Training on Town Clerk Duties
I continue to register for virtual training opportunities. My last training was in January with
the AOT newly elected officials program (since I was officially elected to my position on
November 2021). I am also registered for upcoming trainings, including the OSC
Advanced Account School (15-16.June.2022) and the OSC Seminar: A Roadmap for
Creating Effective Budgets for Towns (21.June.2022).
I am eager to keep working with the Town Supervisor and the Town Board in
collaboration to ensure that the oversights that your audit revealed are properly
addressed and remedied.
Respectfully yours,
Janice Adelman
Town Clerk
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Office of the New York State Comptroller 15
Appendix B: Audit Methodology and Standards
We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution
and the State Comptroller’s authority as set forth in Article 3 of the New York
State General Municipal Law . To achieve the audit objective and obtain valid audit
evidence, our audit procedures included the following:
l We interviewed the Clerk and other Town officials to gain an understanding
of internal controls over collecting, recording, depositing, remitting and
reconciling money collected by the Clerk, and to determine whether policies
and procedures were in place for Clerk operations, including the annual audit
requirement by the Board .
l We reviewed Board minutes and both monthly and annual reports provided
to Board members to determine the extent of financial information received
by the Board .
l We compared bank statement activity and check images to transactions
in the financial software to determine whether the Clerk remitted all real
property tax collections to the Supervisor and Treasurer in a timely manner
for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 tax collection periods .
l We reviewed all tax collection journals for the 2019 (43 journals totaling $3 .6
million), 2020 (38 journals totaling $3 .7 million) and 2021 (43 journals totaling
$3 .9 million) collection periods to determine whether amounts collected were
deposited timely and intact and were posted timely in the financial software .
l We communicated with three taxpayers to determine whether the amounts
paid matched the amounts recorded and to confirm the identification of
missing cash and underpayments of taxes due for the 2021 collection year .
l We reconciled the tax collection activity for 2019, 2020 and 2021 from the
financial software to the tax collector’s bank account to determine whether all
activity recorded was reflected within the bank account .
l We reviewed the Town’s 2019, 2020 and 2021 annual real property tax
collection settlement with the County . We compared amounts levied from
the collector’s warrant to collections made by the Town, remittances to the
Supervisor, unpaid balances turned over to the County for collection and to
the final settlement payment made to the Treasurer to determine whether
the Clerk closed out the tax collection process each year in a timely and
accurate manner .
l We used our professional judgment to select 10 tax payments totaling
$23,389 in 2019, 10 tax payments totaling $8,110 in 2020 and 10 tax
payments totaling $16,793 in 2021, collected between February 15 and
March 31 each year, to determine whether interest, penalties and fees were
appropriately charged and deposited .
l We reviewed all non-cash credit adjustments in 2019, 2020 and 2021 to
determine whether the adjustments were adequately supported .
16 Office of the New York State Comptroller
l We compared the re-levy lists for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 tax collection
periods submitted to the Treasurer with the unpaid account listing in the
financial software to determine whether the Clerk accurately closed out tax
collections .
l On June 16, 2021, we verified the amount of cash in the Clerk’s cash drawer
was accounted for in her records .
l We used our professional judgment to select three months of receipt activity
and traced supporting documentation to the Clerk’s financial software and
to the bank deposit to determine whether the receipts were supported,
deposited timely and intact and recorded . We also verified these amounts
were remitted and reported accurately and timely to the Supervisor . We also
attempted to reconcile these balances to the bank .
l Due to lack of detailed deposit records, we compared all recorded activity in
the financial software to the bank activity for the audit period to determine
whether all receipts recorded were deposited .
l We added testing to support conclusions for Clerk receipts that were lacking
supporting documentation to determine whether money was collected,
recorded and deposited timely and intact . We obtained physical copies
of marriage licenses filed in the Clerk’s office and traced all licenses to
the financial software for the audit period and to the bank statements . We
applied the same methodology to planning and zoning fees by reviewing
the Planning and Zoning Board minutes and tracing these to associated
property folders, if available, to determine whether these fees were collected,
recorded and deposited timely and intact . Lastly, we selected 15 building
permits from the Code Enforcement Officer’s records and traced associated
fees to the Clerk’s records and bank statements to determine whether these
fees were collected, recorded and deposited timely and intact .
l We performed a check accountability by comparing the first check number
written for 2020 activity to the last check number written in June 2021 to
determine whether all checks were accounted for, including voided checks,
for the Clerk’s bank account . We performed the same testing for the tax
collection bank account beginning with the first check in 2019 and gaining an
accountability of all checks as of May 17, 2021 .
l We used our professional judgment to select and communicate with four
local banks to determine whether we had the entire population of accounts
and determined whether balances reported matched those reported by the
banks .
l We compared our analysis of collections of Clerk’s fees to reconcile the June
2021 bank balance .
Office of the New York State Comptroller 17
l We compared all Clerk’s fees collected in our audit period to the monthly
remittances paid to the Supervisor and other State agencies to determine
whether the collections were reported and remitted accurately and timely .
l We reviewed all canceled check images and bank statements for the Clerk
fees and tax collection bank accounts for 2019, 2020 and 2021 to determine
whether there were any cash withdrawals, transfers out, checks payable to
“cash” or checks written to the Clerk or any deputy clerk .
We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards (GAGAS) . Those standards require that we plan
and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a
reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objective .
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objective .
Unless otherwise indicated in this report, samples for testing were selected
based on professional judgment, as it was not the intent to project the results
onto the entire population . Where applicable, information is presented concerning
the value and/or size of the relevant population and the sample selected for
examination .
The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action . A written corrective
action plan (CAP) that addresses the findings and recommendations in this report
should be prepared and provided to our office within 90 days, pursuant to Section
35 of General Municipal Law . For more information on preparing and filing your
CAP, please refer to our brochure, Responding to an OSC Audit Report, which
you received with the draft audit report . We encourage the Board to make the
CAP available for public review in the Clerk’s office .
18 Office of the New York State Comptroller
Appendix C: Resources and Services
Regional Office Directory
www .osc .state .ny .us/files/local-government/pdf/regional-directory .pdf
Cost-Saving Ideas – Resources, advice and assistance on cost-saving ideas
www .osc .state .ny .us/local-government/publications
Fiscal Stress Monitoring – Resources for local government officials experiencing fiscal problems
www .osc .state .ny .us/local-government/fiscal-monitoring
Local Government Management Guides – Series of publications that include technical information
and suggested practices for local government management
www .osc .state .ny .us/local-government/publications
Planning and Budgeting Guides – Resources for developing multiyear financial, capital, strategic and
other plans
www .osc .state .ny .us/local-government/resources/planning-resources
Protecting Sensitive Data and Other Local Government Assets – A non-technical cybersecurity
guide for local government leaders
www .osc .state .ny .us/files/local-government/publications/pdf/cyber-security-guide .pdf
Required Reporting – Information and resources for reports and forms that are filed with the Office of
the State Comptroller
www .osc .state .ny .us/local-government/required-reporting
Research Reports/Publications – Reports on major policy issues facing local governments and State
policy-makers
www .osc .state .ny .us/local-government/publications
Training – Resources for local government officials on in-person and online training opportunities on a
wide range of topics
www .osc .state .ny .us/local-government/academy
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Contact
Office of the New York State Comptroller
Division of Local Government and School Accountability
110 State Street, 12th Floor, Albany, New York 12236
Tel: (518) 474-4037 • Fax: (518) 486-6479 • Email: localgov@osc .ny .gov
www .osc .state .ny .us/local-government
Local Government and School Accountability Help Line: (866) 321-8503
BINGHAMTON REGIONAL OFFICE – Ann C . Singer, Chief Examiner
State Office Building, Suite 1702 • 44 Hawley Street • Binghamton, New York 13901-4417
Tel (607) 721-8306 • Fax (607) 721-8313 • Email: Muni-Binghamton@osc .ny .gov
Serving: Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga,
Tompkins counties