AUDIT UNCOVERS $61,000 OWED TO WAWARSING
Comptroller Auerbach Examines PILOT Payments
KINGSTON, NY (August 10, 2009)… A routine audit into PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES (PILOT) by Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach uncovered $61,486.90 owed to the Town of Wawarsing from a 2007 PILOT agreement between the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency (UCIDA) and the Nevele Grande Hotel.
The Comptroller conducted a three year review with the help of Finance Commissioner Paul Hewitt and Head Account Clerk Brenna Lamoureux. The examination revealed a total of $104,554.98 in sporadic installment payments were received by the County Treasurer’s Office during 2008 but sums owed to the Town of Wawarsing for General and Highway taxes were never advanced. Auerbach informed Wawarsing officials that Ulster County will be forwarding payments of $24,341.88 for the Wawarsing General Fund and $37,145.02 for the Highway Fund.
Comptroller Auerbach continues to research other PILOT agreements to insure that the County and its Towns and Villages are not shortchanged.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Ulster employees spent $200,000 on cell phones last year
KINGSTON – An audit of Ulster County employees’ use of cell phones and Blackberry devices showed they ran up $200,000 in phone bills in 2008. That’s up 40 percent over 2007 bills and County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach said the county needs to come up with a more efficient way of using mobile communications, but at a lower cost to the taxpayer.
He is not pointing the finger at the county workers, but at the types of cell phone plans purchased by the county in the past. In some cases, “Cadillac” plans were purchased for employees that used their phones minimally, thus driving the per-minute cost up to as much as $2, he said.
“We may want to take a less traditional approach to future use and review both a ‘pay as you go’ plan or consider reimbursing employees for the actual minutes used on their personal cell phone while conducting business on behalf of the county,” Auerbach said.
The report recommends specific actions to improve control over county-issued wireless telecommunication devices and also recommends the county hire a firm specializing in matching use to plans as well as assessing billing errors and negotiating the recovery of funds.
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/July09/31/UC_cellphones-31Jul09.htm
He is not pointing the finger at the county workers, but at the types of cell phone plans purchased by the county in the past. In some cases, “Cadillac” plans were purchased for employees that used their phones minimally, thus driving the per-minute cost up to as much as $2, he said.
“We may want to take a less traditional approach to future use and review both a ‘pay as you go’ plan or consider reimbursing employees for the actual minutes used on their personal cell phone while conducting business on behalf of the county,” Auerbach said.
The report recommends specific actions to improve control over county-issued wireless telecommunication devices and also recommends the county hire a firm specializing in matching use to plans as well as assessing billing errors and negotiating the recovery of funds.
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/July09/31/UC_cellphones-31Jul09.htm
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Ulster County investigating division of Health Department
By PAUL KIRBY
Freeman staff
KINGSTON — The discovery of $32,000 in uncashed checks in a safe at the Ulster County Department of Health — whose director was let go last week — is among the reasons a full-scale audit of the department’s Environmental Sanitation Division has been launched, County Executive Michael Hein said on Friday.
In addition to the checks, which were made out to the county and dated as early as 2000, the safe at the sanitation division’s Flatbush Avenue office in Kingston contained health permits for such business and restaurants and camps that were made out but never issued, Hein said, as well as about $300 in cash.
“A significant amount of material was in there,” Hein said.
The materials were discovered on June 11, just hours after Hein placed county Public Health Director Dean Palen on “ad-ministrative leave.” Hein said the safe was behind the desk of Palen’s wife, Deborah, who until recently worked as Palen’s administrative assistant.
Hein stopped short of calling the matter criminal but said county District Attorney Holley Carnright has been made “aware” of the situation.
“I will not tolerate anything that even gives the perception of potential financial irregularities,” Hein said. “We have not ruled out anything at this point. I am a big believer of shining the bright light on things like this and addressing them immediately.”
Neither Palen nor his wife could be reached for comment on Friday.
The county executive said there were 150 uncashed checks in the safe and that they ranged in value from $15 to $1,100. He said the audit of the Environmental Sanitation Division will be completed “as soon as possible” by county Comptroller Elliott Auerbach and the state Health Department.
Auerbach said the investigation will focus, among other things, on whether the public was put in any danger because of the division’s failure to issue permits to businesses that are required to have them.
“Has the public been put in harm’s way?” Auerbach said.
The comptroller said the probe also will focus on what can be done to have better controls in place in the future, and he pledged that “we are going to look at this is a very non-judgmental way.”
Auerbach said he expects to have a plan of action for the investigation in place by Monday.
Hein and Auerbach are Democrats who were elected last fall and took office in January, when the county’s new charter went into effect. Palen was appointed public health director in 1994 when Republicans controlled the county government.
County Legislature Minority Leader Glenn Noonan, a Republican from Gardiner, said if there were any irregularities in the Health Department, Hein — who served as the appointed county administrator before the job of county executive was created — should have known about them.
Noonan said the probe might have started “as a witch hunt, but now they are starting to hit some dirt.”
Regardless of whether the discovery of the uncashed checks and unissued permits played a role in Palen’s dismissal, his days as public health director were numbered because the new charter mandates the Health Department be led by a medical doctor. Palen is not an M.D.
Palen’s annual salary at the time of his removal was $102,847. The Legislature must set the salary for the health director who will succeed him, but the lawmaking body last week rejected a committee’s recommendation that the new leader be paid between $120,000 and $175,000 per year.
In the interim, the Health Department is being led by Nereida Veytia, a registered nurse who has been serving as the department’s director of patient services.
http://www.freemanonline.com/articles/2009/06/20/news/doc4a3c6a584a492704830367.txt
Freeman staff
KINGSTON — The discovery of $32,000 in uncashed checks in a safe at the Ulster County Department of Health — whose director was let go last week — is among the reasons a full-scale audit of the department’s Environmental Sanitation Division has been launched, County Executive Michael Hein said on Friday.
In addition to the checks, which were made out to the county and dated as early as 2000, the safe at the sanitation division’s Flatbush Avenue office in Kingston contained health permits for such business and restaurants and camps that were made out but never issued, Hein said, as well as about $300 in cash.
“A significant amount of material was in there,” Hein said.
The materials were discovered on June 11, just hours after Hein placed county Public Health Director Dean Palen on “ad-ministrative leave.” Hein said the safe was behind the desk of Palen’s wife, Deborah, who until recently worked as Palen’s administrative assistant.
Hein stopped short of calling the matter criminal but said county District Attorney Holley Carnright has been made “aware” of the situation.
“I will not tolerate anything that even gives the perception of potential financial irregularities,” Hein said. “We have not ruled out anything at this point. I am a big believer of shining the bright light on things like this and addressing them immediately.”
Neither Palen nor his wife could be reached for comment on Friday.
The county executive said there were 150 uncashed checks in the safe and that they ranged in value from $15 to $1,100. He said the audit of the Environmental Sanitation Division will be completed “as soon as possible” by county Comptroller Elliott Auerbach and the state Health Department.
Auerbach said the investigation will focus, among other things, on whether the public was put in any danger because of the division’s failure to issue permits to businesses that are required to have them.
“Has the public been put in harm’s way?” Auerbach said.
The comptroller said the probe also will focus on what can be done to have better controls in place in the future, and he pledged that “we are going to look at this is a very non-judgmental way.”
Auerbach said he expects to have a plan of action for the investigation in place by Monday.
Hein and Auerbach are Democrats who were elected last fall and took office in January, when the county’s new charter went into effect. Palen was appointed public health director in 1994 when Republicans controlled the county government.
County Legislature Minority Leader Glenn Noonan, a Republican from Gardiner, said if there were any irregularities in the Health Department, Hein — who served as the appointed county administrator before the job of county executive was created — should have known about them.
Noonan said the probe might have started “as a witch hunt, but now they are starting to hit some dirt.”
Regardless of whether the discovery of the uncashed checks and unissued permits played a role in Palen’s dismissal, his days as public health director were numbered because the new charter mandates the Health Department be led by a medical doctor. Palen is not an M.D.
Palen’s annual salary at the time of his removal was $102,847. The Legislature must set the salary for the health director who will succeed him, but the lawmaking body last week rejected a committee’s recommendation that the new leader be paid between $120,000 and $175,000 per year.
In the interim, the Health Department is being led by Nereida Veytia, a registered nurse who has been serving as the department’s director of patient services.
http://www.freemanonline.com/articles/2009/06/20/news/doc4a3c6a584a492704830367.txt
Sunday, May 10, 2009
State audit cites financial risks, computer security issues at UCCC
By WILLIAM J. KEMBLE
Correspondent
STONE RIDGE — Ulster County Community College is being urged to reduce financial risks and eliminate computer security problems found in a state comptroller’s audit for the 15-month period ending April 22, 2008.
The findings were released by Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach, who said college officials are being advised to better safeguard the school’s $26.69 million budget, which includes $6.28 million in county funding.
“Of the 15 findings (in the audit), nine of them spoke directly to financial activities, including bank reconciliation, payroll certification, tuition collection and claims processing,” Auerbach said. “The (state comptroller) made some bold recommendations, including policy and procedure adoption, auditing of all claims and procurement measures. In addition, the Comptroller’s Office made six recommendations directed at information technology and computer access.”
Among other things, the office of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recommended UCCC review payroll account procedures after finding that three checks totaling $1,265 had not been reviewed by the dean’s office and 11 checks totaling $6,248 were not listed in any payroll register.
State officials also said effective internal control systems for purchase orders are needed after finding that “none of the 140 claims we reviewed, totaling $637,523, had evidence of being audited by the (college) board before they were paid.”
The audit also recommended better documentation of expenses after three claims totaling $7,063 were found to have no explanation and 19 claims were found to have “insufficient” explanations for expenditures totaling $12,691.
Among the claims were “three meal events” totaling $2,598, without including the business purpose or a list of attendees for two of the events, while travel logs for 13 claims totaling $3,384 did not include “sufficient itemization, such as departure and destination details,” the audit stated.
Protecting information technology was recommended after auditors found that access rights had not been deleted for employees whose authorization level had changed or been discontinued.
“Of 10 former employee accounts that we tested, four remained active on the network, seven for up to four months after the users left college service, and one such user account logged onto the network 53 days after separation from service,” the auditors wrote. “Additionally, the access rights to the financial software application for one of these user accounts remained open for eight months after the employee’s separation from service, and the financial software was accessed through this account two months after separation.”
UCCC President Donald Katt said on Saturday that college officials have begun updating procedures to meet the state’s recommendations.
“We are very pleased that no waste, fraud, abuse of taxpayer dollars or financial malfeasance took place, and that no breaches of security, either paper or electronic, were identified,” Katt said of the audit.
“Since brought to the college’s attention, the college’s administration and board of trustees have already taken significant steps to put a number of the recommendations in place,” Katt added. “We will be filing with the Comptroller’s Office a complete comprehensive action plan and implement all the recommendation that the comptroller included in the report.”
In a prepared statement on Saturday, DiNapoli spoke highly of the college.
“Ulster County Community College plays a vital role in providing New Yorkers with an affordable, accessible education,” the comptroller said. “UCCC officials are taking the steps needed top continue to fulfill that role. They are implementing our recommendations to be sure they are making the best use of tuition and tax dollars needed to keep the college the top-notch institution that it is.”
http://www.freemanonline.com/articles/2009/05/10/news/doc4a0653368fb65178604789.txt
Correspondent
STONE RIDGE — Ulster County Community College is being urged to reduce financial risks and eliminate computer security problems found in a state comptroller’s audit for the 15-month period ending April 22, 2008.
The findings were released by Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach, who said college officials are being advised to better safeguard the school’s $26.69 million budget, which includes $6.28 million in county funding.
“Of the 15 findings (in the audit), nine of them spoke directly to financial activities, including bank reconciliation, payroll certification, tuition collection and claims processing,” Auerbach said. “The (state comptroller) made some bold recommendations, including policy and procedure adoption, auditing of all claims and procurement measures. In addition, the Comptroller’s Office made six recommendations directed at information technology and computer access.”
Among other things, the office of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recommended UCCC review payroll account procedures after finding that three checks totaling $1,265 had not been reviewed by the dean’s office and 11 checks totaling $6,248 were not listed in any payroll register.
State officials also said effective internal control systems for purchase orders are needed after finding that “none of the 140 claims we reviewed, totaling $637,523, had evidence of being audited by the (college) board before they were paid.”
The audit also recommended better documentation of expenses after three claims totaling $7,063 were found to have no explanation and 19 claims were found to have “insufficient” explanations for expenditures totaling $12,691.
Among the claims were “three meal events” totaling $2,598, without including the business purpose or a list of attendees for two of the events, while travel logs for 13 claims totaling $3,384 did not include “sufficient itemization, such as departure and destination details,” the audit stated.
Protecting information technology was recommended after auditors found that access rights had not been deleted for employees whose authorization level had changed or been discontinued.
“Of 10 former employee accounts that we tested, four remained active on the network, seven for up to four months after the users left college service, and one such user account logged onto the network 53 days after separation from service,” the auditors wrote. “Additionally, the access rights to the financial software application for one of these user accounts remained open for eight months after the employee’s separation from service, and the financial software was accessed through this account two months after separation.”
UCCC President Donald Katt said on Saturday that college officials have begun updating procedures to meet the state’s recommendations.
“We are very pleased that no waste, fraud, abuse of taxpayer dollars or financial malfeasance took place, and that no breaches of security, either paper or electronic, were identified,” Katt said of the audit.
“Since brought to the college’s attention, the college’s administration and board of trustees have already taken significant steps to put a number of the recommendations in place,” Katt added. “We will be filing with the Comptroller’s Office a complete comprehensive action plan and implement all the recommendation that the comptroller included in the report.”
In a prepared statement on Saturday, DiNapoli spoke highly of the college.
“Ulster County Community College plays a vital role in providing New Yorkers with an affordable, accessible education,” the comptroller said. “UCCC officials are taking the steps needed top continue to fulfill that role. They are implementing our recommendations to be sure they are making the best use of tuition and tax dollars needed to keep the college the top-notch institution that it is.”
http://www.freemanonline.com/articles/2009/05/10/news/doc4a0653368fb65178604789.txt
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Ulster comptroller starts certifying county payroll
KINGSTON – Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach has begun to certify the county’s more than $3 million payroll.
For the first time, county taxpayers have an independent review of payroll before it is paid, something he started last week, the comptroller said.
Auerbach said his office has the responsibility to certify the payroll for county employees.
“This is just an extra measure to insure that taxpayers’ money is being well spent and we are charged by the charter and the administrative code to in fact certify payroll, which has not been in place up until the new charter form of government in January,” he said.
Sometime in the future, Auerbach would like to expand his certification process to require county workers to personally appear and sign for their paychecks once or twice a year.
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/May09/05/UC_payroll_cert-05May09,html
For the first time, county taxpayers have an independent review of payroll before it is paid, something he started last week, the comptroller said.
Auerbach said his office has the responsibility to certify the payroll for county employees.
“This is just an extra measure to insure that taxpayers’ money is being well spent and we are charged by the charter and the administrative code to in fact certify payroll, which has not been in place up until the new charter form of government in January,” he said.
Sometime in the future, Auerbach would like to expand his certification process to require county workers to personally appear and sign for their paychecks once or twice a year.
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/May09/05/UC_payroll_cert-05May09,html
Monday, April 20, 2009
Ulster County tax lien sales double
Posted: April 20, 2009 - 8:29 AM
KINGSTON -- In 2007 there were 66 properties listed for sale at Ulster County's public auction. Twenty-four months later those numbers have more than doubled to 134, according to county Comptroller Elliott Auerbach.
The 2008 Public Auction catalog also reveals that the amounts owed to thecounty for properties three or more years in arrears have gone up by 55 percent since the 2007 sale, from $1,016,265 to $1,580,289.
Auerbach calls it a sign of the tough economic times and is fearful that it is a harbinger of things to come if we cannot offer property owners some relief.
Auerbach says that the 134 properties listed for sale is a small percentage compared to the 84,390 properties listed as taxable parcels in the 2008 Ulster County Real Property report, but he warns County leaders not to be lulled into thinking things are just fine since property tax accounts for 21 percent of the county's projected revenue.
The county's public auction will be held at SUNY Ulster in Vanderlyn Hall Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
The complete listing of properties can be found on the County website at
www.ulstercountyny.gov/finance
www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20090420%2FNEWS%2F90420014
KINGSTON -- In 2007 there were 66 properties listed for sale at Ulster County's public auction. Twenty-four months later those numbers have more than doubled to 134, according to county Comptroller Elliott Auerbach.
The 2008 Public Auction catalog also reveals that the amounts owed to thecounty for properties three or more years in arrears have gone up by 55 percent since the 2007 sale, from $1,016,265 to $1,580,289.
Auerbach calls it a sign of the tough economic times and is fearful that it is a harbinger of things to come if we cannot offer property owners some relief.
Auerbach says that the 134 properties listed for sale is a small percentage compared to the 84,390 properties listed as taxable parcels in the 2008 Ulster County Real Property report, but he warns County leaders not to be lulled into thinking things are just fine since property tax accounts for 21 percent of the county's projected revenue.
The county's public auction will be held at SUNY Ulster in Vanderlyn Hall Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
The complete listing of properties can be found on the County website at
www.ulstercountyny.gov/finance
www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20090420%2FNEWS%2F90420014
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