Village aims to improve cash controls
Village officials have made changes in Building Department procedures concerning the handling of money after a state audit flagged its failure to keep track of receipts.
The audit, covering the period from June 1, 2015, to April 13, 2017, examined receipts collected by the village code enforcement officer.
“The (Village Board) did not adequately segregate the (officer’s) duties related to cash receipts, which resulted in the CEO performing incompatible duties, including collecting cash, recording receipts and preparing bank deposits,” the audit said. “The CEO opens mail, takes in cash receipts, prepares deposits slips, records revenues, issues permits and performs inspections, as well as reports to the board.”
The audit found there was no written procedure for providing receipts for inspections and permits. Auditors found a $3,333 discrepancy in June 2016, with $15,459 in deposits while only $12,126 in income was reported.
Auditors also found that revenue for certificates of occupancy was over-reported by $100, while the amount for inspections and permits was under-reported by $800.
“These discrepancies occurred because the board has not clearly communicated that records should be completely and accurately recorded in the department’s computerized records management system as soon as practicable for the date cash is received,” the audit said.
During a seven-month examination period, the audit said, there were 66 cash receipts totaling $12,391 that were turned over to the treasurer up to 20 days late and another 116, amounting to $37,431, that were turned over more than 20 days late.
“Because Building Department staff did not properly record cash when received, the village has an increased risk that cash receipts could be lost or misappropriated without detection,” the audit said. “In addition, without accurate records and reports, the board cannot make informed financial decisions.”
Village Mayor Tim Rogers on Thursday said he was grateful for the state findings.
“I’m very open to working with the Comptroller’s Office anytime that we can,” he said. “The Building Department was one of the main reasons that I ran for this job because I felt that there were areas where we could improve . ... We’ve hired new staff. We actually just made one of our part-time fire inspectors full-time recently, so we’re really upping our game in terms of procedures.”
Village officials, in a written response to the audit, said there have been changes implemented to improve tracking money, including segregating duties of the building inspector and code enforcement officer, along with plans to have the village treasurer responsible for collections.
“We are currently in the process of meeting with the Building Department software vendor ... to see if the treasurer’s office can have limited access, so all payments can be recorded at the time of receipt,” Rogers wrote.