New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli has released a series of audits addressing the financial practices and oversight in several local governments and school districts.
According to the Comptroller’s office, auditors were unable to fully assess one city’s finances due to incomplete and outdated accounting records. The city’s 2024 Annual Financial Report was overdue, and independent audits for recent years have found the city’s records unreliable. These external findings highlight a rapid decline in the city’s finances, noting that officials cannot effectively monitor cash flow or operational results, which complicates budgeting and planning efforts. As of December 31, 2024, deficit fund balances across multiple funds totaled $15.3 million. The financial condition continued to worsen into 2025 after an unplanned $1.8 million expenditure on two pumper trucks depleted available funds. With limited options left to cover rising costs, city officials have not planned rate increases for water or wastewater services despite deficits in those areas. The proposed 2026 budget would raise property taxes by 2%, nearly reaching the city’s constitutional tax limit and limiting future tax increases.
In another audit, district officials were found not to have maintained detailed capital asset records. While assets valued at $1.7 million were inventoried, records lacked necessary details such as serial numbers and current locations for hundreds of items, making it difficult to safeguard these assets. Additionally, some assets worth over $42,000 could not be located.
A separate review noted that one town board had not developed or adopted long-term financial plans or policies related to fund balances and reserves. This lack of planning meant that unrestricted fund balances accumulated without clear goals or transparency for taxpayers regarding future needs or investments.
Auditors also reported that another town board did not manage its fund balance effectively. Despite having significant unrestricted reserves—enough to cover several years’ worth of certain expenses—the board increased real property taxes by 18% from 2022 through 2025 and allocated sales tax revenues inappropriately between funds during this period. Recommendations from a prior audit were not implemented until after notification from the State Comptroller’s office.
A review of one municipality’s tentative budget raised concerns about revenue projections and appropriations allocations among operating funds. Some projected revenues may be unreasonable while debt payments appear overestimated by more than $37,000.
The audit of the Wyoming County Industrial Development Agency (WCIDA) found compliance with Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) agreements for wind and solar projects during the review period: “WCIDA officials ensured PILOTs they calculated were accurate and in compliance with the PILOT agreements.”
Finally, auditors revisited recommendations made previously to the Town of Danby regarding procurement processes but found no corrective action had been taken: “The board and town officials failed to implement any of the 14 audit recommendations and were unable to provide reasonable explanations for their lack of action.”
These findings reflect ongoing challenges in fiscal management among some local governments in New York State.
