Salamanca officials are promising corrective measures after an audit found that a former city comptroller failed to file accurate and timely monthly and annual financial reports for four years, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reported.
A second audit of separation payments made to 18 employees who stopped working for the city between April 1, 2020, and Oct. 31, 2022, determined that they were not properly authorized or accurately calculated, DiNapoli said.
Auditors discovered that annual reports from 2018 through 2021 were not submitted until after the former city comptroller resigned in August 2022.
DiNapoli said the audit also turned up errors in monthly financial statements and found that a report at the end of fiscal year 2021 showed about $330,000 too much in the general fund.
The audit criticized the mayor and City Council for failing to make sure the annual reports were on time and for not knowing that the former comptroller’s accounting methods were improper.
Auditors found that the February 2022 report misstated the cost of a new ambulance at $31,000, while the actual price was about $173,000. They noted that the previous city comptroller, who was not named, improperly charged the remainder to a reserve fund account.
The audit also learned that the mayor and Council members were not given financial reports until just before their meetings and did not have time to review them.
The audit recommended that the current comptroller should file the overdue 2022 financial report and work with the mayor and Council to review reports from the previous four years. Officials also were advised to discontinue the improper accounting practices used by the previous comptroller.
The other audit discovered $3,400 that was paid to an employee who was still working for the city and about $45,000 paid to another worker based on nine years’ worth of accrued leave that was not independently verified.
The audit recommended a review of…
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