The Town of Seneca Falls has made “very limited progress” in implementing corrective action suggested by a state audit in 2019, according to state auditors.
In a letter sent to Supervisor Mike Ferrara and the board in February, auditors noted that of the eight audit recommendations, only one has been fully implemented, while others remain unaddressed.
The single recommendation successfully implemented involved the review of tax implications concerning employee housing.
The unaddressed recommendations touch on several key areas including budgeting, fund balance policy, budget transfers, multi-year financial and capital plans, reserve policy, and contract monitoring.
Specifically, auditors cited issues such as unrealistic budget estimates resulting in surpluses, lack of written policies for surplus funds, untimely budget transfers, absence of multi-year plans, and maintaining reserves with no clear guidance.
Auditors also pointed out that despite the formation of a contract committee in early 2023, contract monitoring procedures were still lacking.
Supervisor Ferrara told the Finger Lakes Times the report has yet to be finalized and expressed disappointment that the previous administration had not implemented the recommendations. He added that town officials would continue to work on the audit recommendations.
A separate audit regarding the town’s information technology operations found two of six recommendations fully implemented, one partially addressed, and three left unattended.
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