State comptroller audit finds Dolgeville village treasurer failed to maintain adequate records

DOLGEVILLE, N.Y. — An audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office found the Dolgeville village treasurer failed to maintain adequate records and reports that would allow the village board to responsibly manage Dolgeville’s finances.

“The treasurer did not record all financial activity using proper accounting procedures,” according to a report released by the comptroller’s office. “As a result, inadequate records and reports were maintained, and the board lacked the financial information necessary to property monitor and manage village finances.”

Specifically, the report noted the treasurer did not properly account for fund balances within each village fund or establish separate capital-project funds to account for the financial activity of projects undertaken, periodically reconcile water and sewer-receivable, control-account balances, provide adequate budget status and balance-sheet reports to the board monthly, or prepare and file the required state annual financial report for the 2019-2020 through 2022-2023 fiscal years.

As a result, auditors from the comptroller’s office made some key recommendations including maintaining complete, accurate, and timely financial records; periodically reconciling receivable-control accounts; providing monthly financial reports to the board; and filing the annual reports as required.

In a June 17, 2024, letter to the state comptroller’s office, Dolgeville Mayor Mary E. Puznowski outlined the measures the village has taken to implement all the recommendations including installing a new software program with a municipal accounting system that allows the village to adopt many of the recommendations. Other remedies include working with a certified public accountant to get the past-due annual reports filed and new policies effective as of June to provide proper reconciliations.

The comptroller’s original audit period covered June 1, 2021, to April 20, 2023, and was then extended through April 23, 2024, to review the annual report filing status.

After the audit, a new treasurer was appointed, effective November 2023.