Despite promising change, the Town of Danby ignored every single recommendation from a 2022 state audit, a new review has found.
The follow-up report, released in November by the New York State Comptroller’s Office, says town officials failed to fix serious financial and oversight problems—including improper health insurance payments, mishandled credit cards, and unapproved spending.
Town made no progress—at all
After a 2022 audit flagged widespread financial missteps, Danby’s Town Board submitted a corrective action plan promising to fix the issues. But when state auditors returned in 2025, they found the town hadn’t implemented any of the 14 recommendations.
Officials couldn’t explain why. The result, auditors said, is continued risk of waste, fraud, and poor oversight of taxpayer money.
Credit cards, duplicate payments, and missing receipts
Among the most serious findings:
- The town paid nearly $3,400 on credit cards that belonged to a former employee—after they had already left the job.
- 57% of credit card purchases—about $12,600—lacked proper receipts or supporting documents.
- 33 credit card purchases weren’t reviewed by the board before payment, and others were approved only after the money was spent.
Officials admitted they didn’t do annual credit card audits as required, and some purchases were paid late, racking up fees. One board member said they didn’t catch the problems sooner because they were trying to avoid late payments.
No competition, no quotes, no documentation
Auditors also found the town didn’t follow rules requiring competitive bidding or even basic price quotes. In one case, $394,000 worth of purchases had no documentation showing bids or comparisons—even when required by law.
Danby claimed in its original response that it had started attaching state contract price comparisons and documentation to bills. But the follow-up found no evidence that was actually happening.
Overpaid, overcharged, and underchecked
The town:
- Paid some bills twice and failed to get back nearly $1,500 in duplicate payments.
- Lost $2,700 in bank fees it never tried to recover.
- Failed to collect refunds on sales tax, despite being eligible to do so. Officials claimed they didn’t know they could file for those refunds.
The board also kept approving health insurance reimbursements without any written policy or board resolution. In one case, it paid nearly $7,600 to an employee without any official authorization.
Board response: Vague promises, few actions
In written responses included in the audit (pages 9–13), the town acknowledged the findings and outlined several plans to do better—including new receipt tracking systems, efforts to contact banks, and future policy updates.
But state officials noted many of the same promises were made in 2022—and still haven’t been fulfilled three years later.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].