State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal & School Audits

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

Primary Hall Preparatory Charter School - Debit Cards (Erie County)

Some debit card purchases were not properly approved or adequately supported and lacked documentation to demonstrate that the charges were for a valid school purpose. Debit cards pose significant risks because individuals using them have direct access to a school's bank account and unauthorized use may not be readily detected. Of the 186 debit card purchases totaling $170,941 that auditors reviewed, 138 totaling $130,295 were not properly approved or adequately supported and 76 totaling $39,398 lacked documentation to demonstrate that the charges were for a valid school purpose. In addition, none of the 186 purchases had evidence of preapproval by the executive director or the board treasurer as required by school policy

Scarborough Fire District - Board Oversight (Westchester County)

The board did not provide adequate oversight of the district's financial operations. Specifically, the board did not adopt written financial policies to establish a system of internal controls that ensure oversight of financial operations, including a code of ethics, investment policy or procurement policy, as required by state law. They did not develop and adopt written multiyear financial and capital plans. The board also did not ensure all commissioners completed the mandatory fiscal oversight training in a timely manner or ensure that the treasurer filed the district's 2018 through 2024 annual financial reports (AFRs). The 2024 AFR was also 244 days late as of Oct. 31, 2025.

Arkport Joint Fire District - Treasurer's Records and Reports (Steuben County)

The current and former treasurers did not record and report district receipts and disbursements accurately and in a timely manner. The former treasurer inaccurately recorded or did not record 13 receipts totaling $93,978 and 20 disbursements totaling $24,502, among other issues. The former treasurer also did not file the required AFR for the last five fiscal years and the current year is overdue. The current treasurer, appointed in April 2025, did not prepare any records or reports for nine receipts totaling $26,324 or six disbursements totaling $1,878 since their appointment through June 30, 2025. Because the treasurers did not prepare bank reconciliations and the board did not review monthly bank statements or perform an annual audit, these errors and inaccuracies went undetected and uncorrected.

Nichols Joint Fire District - Procurement (Tioga County)

The board and district officials did not always use a competitive process to procure goods and services in accordance with statutory requirements. Officials did not adhere to the piggybacking exception or obtain competitive bids for two purchases totaling $319,945 or issue requests for proposals or use any other competitive process before procuring professional services from two vendors totaling $38,873. Officials did not obtain quotes for seven purchases totaling $27,810 or seek competition for fuel purchases, which may have saved the district $3,626 over the audit period.

Hillsdale-Copake Fire District - Cash Disbursements (Columbia County)

The board generally provided adequate oversight of disbursements. Auditors determined that all disbursements were properly authorized, adequately supported, and made for appropriate district purposes. However, the board did not always ensure that its adopted written disbursement policies were followed. Ten checks totaling $249,004, had only the treasurer's signature. One check for $4,267 payable to the treasurer was not signed by the chairman, but instead by the treasurer herself. In addition, periodic comparisons were not made between canceled check images to the list of approved checks by someone without the check-signing authority.

Ouaquaga Fire Company, Inc. - Company Operations (Broome County)

Auditors found the treasurer oversaw all financial operations of the company without any oversight. Given this lack of oversight, the treasurer also paid claims before approval by the board or membership, did not maintain accurate and complete accounting records, and did not submit required reports. Of the 172 claims totaling $185,900 paid by the treasurer before approval, 40 claims, totaling $43,100, did not have adequate supporting documentation to verify that each disbursement was for a proper company purpose. Auditors also identified one claim, totaling $11,800, which was paid twice for the same piece of equipment without a refund issued. The treasurer's cash balances in the accounting records were not accurate or complete. The treasurer also did not file the required annual report with OSC on the receipt and use of FFI tax proceeds for the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years.

Village of Washingtonville - Budget Review (Orange County)

When a village is authorized by a special or general law to incur debt to liquidate an operating deficit, it must submit the village's tentative budget for the next fiscal year to the State Comptroller's office (OSC) for review. The scope of this review was significantly limited by the lack of complete, accurate and current accounting records maintained by the village. Further, village officials have not complied with some of the requirements of the law and certain significant revenue and expenditure projections in the proposed budget appear unreasonable. In addition, the village fully implemented only one of the seven recommendations from OSC's January 2025 budget review letter. The 2026-27 tentative budget includes a tax levy of $5.6 million. It appears the village may be over the tax cap by as much as $60,300. However, officials provided a proposed local law to override the limit. The village will need $1.1 million to service its debt obligations during 2026-27, which represents about 10% of its annual budget.

Upper Jay Fire District - Audit Follow-Up (Essex County)

The purpose of the review was to assess the Upper Jay Fire District's progress in implementing recommendations in the audit report Upper Jay Fire District - Board Oversight, released in May 2023. The audit determined that district officials did not provide adequate oversight of district financial activities, which hindered their ability to monitor financial activities and increased the risk that improper claims could be paid. Of seven recommendations in the audit, the district fully implemented five, partially implemented one and did not implement one recommendation. Until all recommendations are implemented, the board cannot ensure district assets are fully safeguarded.

Crown Point Fire District - Audit Follow-Up (Essex County)

The purpose of this review was to assess the Crown Point Fire District's progress in implementing the recommendations in the audit report Crown Point Fire District - Board Oversight, released in May 2024. The audit determined that the board did not ensure required annual audits were completed and annual financial reports were filed in a timely manner. To help the board adequately oversee the district's financial operations, the audit report contained three recommendations. The district implemented one recommendation and partially implemented two recommendations.