The Board did not provide adequate oversight of the District's financial operations. As a result, the Board hindered their ability to make informed financial decisions and levied taxes that were more than necessary to fund operations.

District officials developed a comprehensive investment program but did not effectively manage the program. During the 17-month audit period, the District earned $539 from money on deposit in the District's checking and money market accounts, which had average available funds for investing of $845,365. Had officials considered other legally permissible investment options, the District may have earned an additional $38,700 more than earned.

The purpose of our review was to determine whether County officials have established appropriate controls to safeguard and account for court and trust funds for the period January 1, 2021 through October 12, 2023.

The Board did not ensure that financial reports it received were timely, accurate, and contained the necessary information it needed to properly monitor the District's financial condition and fund balance. If the Board does not adequately control expenditures and monitor and rebuild the District's fund balance, there is a risk that the District may not have sufficient financial resources available to address unexpected occurrences or meet its cash flow needs.

BOCES officials did not develop and manage a comprehensive investment program. During the 12-month audit period, BOCES held $7.4 million in money market accounts and earned interest totaling $105,000, and held $4.6 million in non-interest bearing accounts. Had officials considered other available investment options, BOCES may have earned $448,000 in investment income, or $343,000 more than the $105,000 earned during our audit period.

Claims and payroll-related disbursements were not always adequately supported, properly approved or for Town purposes.

The Board did not provide adequate oversight over financial operations and capital projects. As a result, the Board did not have sufficient information to oversee financial operations and capital projects. The Board was unaware of the Village's financial position and that financial records were disorderly and incomplete.

District officials did not develop and manage a comprehensive investment program. During the 22-month audit period, the District had an average of $12.4 million in operating and debt service funds available for investing, and earned $154,099 in investment earnings. Had officials utilized their investment accounts more effectively, the District may have earned $356,452, or $202,353 more than the $154,099 of investment earnings during our audit period.

The Town was not reimbursed equitably for shared service costs related to the intermunicipal agreement (IMA) and the operating group Chadwick Bay Intermunicipal Water Works (CBI). In addition, the Board did not convey land to Chautauqua County (County) in a transparent and equitable manner.

The North Chautauqua County Water District's (District's) Board (Board), County Legislature (Legislature) and other County officials did not adopt realistic budgets, routinely monitor the District's financial operations or take appropriate actions to maintain the District's fiscal stability. As such, all County taxpayers have been funding District operations instead of just the real property owners who benefited from the District's services.

District officials did not properly bill and collect tuition for nonresident foster care students enrolled at the District. As of March 27, 2023, the District had not collected $59,336 of tuition billed and did not bill $4,345 for tuition due. As a result, the District had not been paid $63,681 of the $107,167 (59 percent) in tuition owed to the District during the 2019-20 through 2021-22 school years.

District officials did not properly claim State aid for special education students who received services in 10-month public and summer placements. As a result, as of April 30, 2023, the District will not benefit from $28,832 in State aid that was not claimed and had not claimed an additional $224,976 in aid, of which $195,844 would have already been received if claimed in a timely manner. Officials also claimed and received $57,650 in aid to which the District was not entitled.

Officials did not provide adequate oversight of water fund operations.

BOCES' capital asset records were incomplete and inaccurate.

BOCES' capital asset records were not complete or accurate to ensure that assets were accounted for and protected from loss, theft, misuse and obsolescence. We selected 94 capital assets purchased for $247,918 and identified one or more exceptions for 49 capital assets purchased for $115,351 (two capital assets, with a purchase price of $4,437, had more than one exception).

The Board did not properly audit claims before payment. As a result, there was an increased risk that improper or unsupported payments could have been made and may not have been detected and corrected.

The purpose of our review was to determine whether County officials have established appropriate controls to safeguard and account for court and trust funds for the period January 1, 2021 through September 22, 2023.

District officials generally paid the 33 employees we tested accurately and properly calculated their leave accruals.

District officials did not ensure that unneeded network user accounts were disabled in a timely manner. As a result, 21 percent of the District's network user accounts were unneeded and additional entry points that could have been used to inappropriately access the network and view personal, private and sensitive information (PPSI), make unauthorized changes to records, deny legitimate access to electronic information, or gain access to or control over other information technology (IT) functions.

The Board and Treasurer did not properly manage the Department's finances. The Board did not adopt realistic budgets or take an active role in monitoring Department finances. As a result, the operating budget was underestimated by $29,667 in 2021 and by $33,298 in 2022.