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A lack of financial controls and sound record keeping has led state officials to believe that thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money may not have gone to legitimate village business, according to a state Comptroller’s Office report.
A recently completed audit of the village of Middleville cited numerous purchases and payments, between 2004 and 2007, that left many unanswered questions.
Of 135 audited village checks, totaling $57,566, nearly 90 were either not supported by records, proper village board approval or a combination of both. The cost of checks without proper documentation totaled over $29,000, according to the report.
While many of the claims were for what appeared to be village-related expenses, such as repairs to village property or payments to village employees, inadequate record keeping leaves room for doubt.
As a result of a lack of records, “Village officials do not have sufficient assurance that these payments were for legitimate Village expenditures,” the audit findings state.
Mayor Elizabeth Schrader said the purchases mentioned in the audit occurred after she took office in April 2007.
Schrader did serve as a village trustee in 2006, but she said the audit is related to actions of the previous administration, occuring prior to her involvement.
Leo Lynch served as mayor of Middleville for over 20 years before resigning in January 2007.
Along with current village trustees, Schrader requested the audit related to the missing records prior to April 2007, the comptroller’s office stated in its findings.
Schrader said the current village board has initiated all of the controls recommended by the OSC. A new village attorney and village treasurer were also appointed when the current administration took office, she said.
A spokesperson for the Comptroller’s Office did not return a call or e-mail Monday.
The current administration upon taking office also called for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development audit related to possible mismanagement of a Revolving Loan Fund.
The HUD audit identified major violations of the program, including a failure to maintain adequate financial and accounting controls, close to $50,000 of questionable costs and a failure to follow conflict of interest regulations, the Comptroller’s audit stated.
Other findings of the most recent audit included issues with adhering to village procurement policy. Of 11 purchases tested, totaling $14,402, none had records indicating quotes or propoposals were obtained, the report states. General Municipal Law does require competitive bidding for individual purchases over $10,000 and public works contracts over $20,000, according to the audit.
Actions by treasurers during the audit period were also not supported by records, the audit stated.
During the 2005-06 and 2006-07 fiscal years, banking treasure entries increased cash balances by close to $88,000 and decreased balances by $34,000, the audit reported. Auditors also found no indication that appropriate records for real property taxes and water rents or monthly financial reports were filed in a timely manner, the report stated.
“As a result of these weaknesses, there is an increased risk that cash is not adequately safeguarded and improper cash transactions could occur and go undetected,” the audit findings stated.
Missing timesheets for village employees were also cited in the audit. Of 16 payments, totaling over $6,200, made to four employees during the audit period, timesheets supporting three payments totaling $916 could not be located and one payment for $438 was missing, accoring to the audit report.
“Because of the insufficient controls over timesheets, the Village is at increased risk of compensating employees for hours they did not actually work,” the audit findings stated.
There were also several other findings, totaling over $10,000, related to undocumented purchases, the most recent audit stated.
Schrader said it is difficult to comment on any possible attempts to recoup any questionable financial actions by the prior administration.
“The records are gone and we can’t ever get them back,” she said.
A lack of financial controls and sound record keeping has led state officials to believe that thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money may not have gone to legitimate village business, according to a state Comptroller’s Office report.
A recently completed audit of the village of Middleville cited numerous purchases and payments, between 2004 and 2007, that left many unanswered questions.
Of 135 audited village checks, totaling $57,566, nearly 90 were either not supported by records, proper village board approval or a combination of both. The cost of checks without proper documentation totaled over $29,000, according to the report.
While many of the claims were for what appeared to be village-related expenses, such as repairs to village property or payments to village employees, inadequate record keeping leaves room for doubt.
As a result of a lack of records, “Village officials do not have sufficient assurance that these payments were for legitimate Village expenditures,” the audit findings state.
Mayor Elizabeth Schrader said the purchases mentioned in the audit occurred after she took office in April 2007.
Schrader did serve as a village trustee in 2006, but she said the audit is related to actions of the previous administration, occuring prior to her involvement.
Leo Lynch served as mayor of Middleville for over 20 years before resigning in January 2007.
Along with current village trustees, Schrader requested the audit related to the missing records prior to April 2007, the comptroller’s office stated in its findings.
Schrader said the current village board has initiated all of the controls recommended by the OSC. A new village attorney and village treasurer were also appointed when the current administration took office, she said.
A spokesperson for the Comptroller’s Office did not return a call or e-mail Monday.
The current administration upon taking office also called for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development audit related to possible mismanagement of a Revolving Loan Fund.
The HUD audit identified major violations of the program, including a failure to maintain adequate financial and accounting controls, close to $50,000 of questionable costs and a failure to follow conflict of interest regulations, the Comptroller’s audit stated.
Other findings of the most recent audit included issues with adhering to village procurement policy. Of 11 purchases tested, totaling $14,402, none had records indicating quotes or propoposals were obtained, the report states. General Municipal Law does require competitive bidding for individual purchases over $10,000 and public works contracts over $20,000, according to the audit.
Actions by treasurers during the audit period were also not supported by records, the audit stated.
During the 2005-06 and 2006-07 fiscal years, banking treasure entries increased cash balances by close to $88,000 and decreased balances by $34,000, the audit reported. Auditors also found no indication that appropriate records for real property taxes and water rents or monthly financial reports were filed in a timely manner, the report stated.
“As a result of these weaknesses, there is an increased risk that cash is not adequately safeguarded and improper cash transactions could occur and go undetected,” the audit findings stated.
Missing timesheets for village employees were also cited in the audit. Of 16 payments, totaling over $6,200, made to four employees during the audit period, timesheets supporting three payments totaling $916 could not be located and one payment for $438 was missing, accoring to the audit report.
“Because of the insufficient controls over timesheets, the Village is at increased risk of compensating employees for hours they did not actually work,” the audit findings stated.
There were also several other findings, totaling over $10,000, related to undocumented purchases, the most recent audit stated.
Schrader said it is difficult to comment on any possible attempts to recoup any questionable financial actions by the prior administration.
“The records are gone and we can’t ever get them back,” she said.
