State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal Audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government audits were issued.

Town of Lockport - Fuel Inventory (Niagara County)

The superintendent did not properly safeguard and monitor fuel usage. He also did not properly oversee the Highway Department clerk's work. Due to the lack of controls and oversight of fuel operations, billing errors occurred and the potential for inappropriate use of town fuel to occur and go undetected was significant.

Town of Lockport - Asphalt Millings Inventory (Niagara County)

The superintendent did not properly monitor and account for the millings inventory or unscreened millings sales. As a result, there is an increased risk of fraud, abuse and misuse of millings inventories and sales revenue to occur and go undetected. The superintendent also did not update the sale price of millings in accordance with the current average market price. As a result, 483 tons of unscreened millings that were sold for $929 should have been sold for $9,875 based on average market prices at the time of the sale. In addition, because millings are a lower-cost alternative to stone and other materials used for roadway and other town projects, officials may incur added costs if the town's millings inventory is depleted.

Town of Lockport - Building Permit Fee Collections (Niagara County)

The inspector did not properly manage permit fee collections by not always applying the board-approved permit fee and not maintaining accurate records. As a result, the town may not have received all revenues due to the town, and permit fees collected may have been lost, misused or misappropriated.

Town of Lockport - Culvert Pipe Fee Collections (Niagara County)

The superintendent did not ensure application fees and installation fees were properly collected and recorded. Therefore, officials cannot verify the accuracy or ensure accountability of the collection of those fees. This significantly increased the risk that collections could be lost, unaccounted for or misappropriated without detection.

Town of Guilderland - Information Technology (IT) (Albany County)

The town board and officials did not monitor employee internet use or establish adequate controls to safeguard IT systems. In addition, the board did not adopt an IT contingency plan to help minimize the risk of data loss or a serious interruption of services, periodically test backups or provide IT security awareness training. As a result, town officials cannot be assured that town IT assets are secured and protected against unauthorized use, access and loss, and there is an increased risk that officials could lose important data and suffer a serious interruption in operations.

Town of Guilderland - Sales Tax Revenue Allocation (Albany County)

Town officials did not properly budget for and allocate sales tax revenue totaling $14.8 million during the audit period. As a result, taxpayer inequities occurred. Auditors found that town taxpayers who lived outside the village did not receive all the benefits they should have from the county sales tax distributions, while taxpayers with real property located within the village received an extra benefit.

Town of Willsboro - Town Clerk/Tax Collector (Essex County)

The town clerk/tax collector did not properly record, deposit, report and remit collections and misappropriated more than $29,000 in collections during the audit period. The clerk concealed her misappropriation of collections by not recording collections or recording them for less than the amount received, making unsupported cash deposits, not reporting and remitting collections to the supervisor and state agencies, not returning overpayments to taxpayers and making unsupported disbursements between her three bank accounts. The clerk worked for the town from 2014 to 2021, having lost election in 2021. She also separately served as treasurer for the Essex County Agricultural Society, a non-profit organization that promotes agriculture through the Essex County Fair, from 2013 to 2019. Based upon the audit findings and subsequent investigation of the clerk's activities at both the town and the society, the clerk was arrested in the summer of 2024 for stealing approximately $60,000 from the society and $29,000 from the town. In May 2025, the clerk pleaded guilty to felony grand larceny in the second degree for the funds stolen from the society and felony grand larceny in the third degree as a crime of public corruption for the theft from the town. In July 2025, the clerk was sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to pay full restitution of nearly $90,000 for stealing funds from both the society and town.