Comptroller audit finds Herkimer County IDA didn’t properly approve and monitor projects

ALBANY, N.Y. — Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) officials and board members didn’t properly approve and monitor economic-development projects, a recent local-government audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found.

As a result, the IDA’s board could not effectively evaluate projects or hold project owners accountable, per a July 11 news release from the comptroller’s office. The board also did not verify applicants’ project information or complete cost-benefit analyses before approving projects. The board and officials did not obtain information to monitor capital investment and salaries and did not have an adequate process to verify job creation and retention. The board and officials also did not adequately monitor sales-tax exemptions claimed by project owners, according to the audit’s findings. 

One project exceeded its authorized exemption amount by $6,155, and the board and officials were unaware that two other projects had reported inaccurate sales tax exemptions, the comptroller’s office said. The full audit report is available at: https://www.osc.state.ny.us/files/local-government/audits/2022/pdf/herkimer-2022-28.pdf.