State audit faults district

Report: Appropriations were overestimated

MECHANICVILLE, N.Y. » A state comptroller’s audit faults Mechanicville City School District for increasing its tax levy to fund appropriations that it overestimated by almost $4.6 million from 2013-16.

The audit was done to see if the school board adopted realistic budgets and kept unrestricted fund balance within statutory limits for the period July 1, 2013 to January 31, 2017.

For three academic years from 2013-14 through 2015-16, district officials overestimated appropriations by nearly $4.6 million and appropriated $2.5 million in fund balance that was not used to finance operations.

“While some expenditures are difficult to accurately estimate, others, such as interest on bonds and notes and retirement costs can be easily predicted and should be budgeted appropriately,” the audit says. “Most of the board’s overestimates were significant and avoidable. The district increased its tax levy to fund the overestimated appropriations. The board increased the real property tax levy by a total of $1.2 million, or 9 percent, from 2013-14 through 2015-16 without exceeding the tax cap.”

Also, the board and district officials did not develop multi-year financial and capital plans that would define how unrestricted fund balance would be used, the report says.

The district’s fund balance increased by more than $2.7 million and exceeded the statutory limit

by 13.3 percent at the end of 2015-16, the audit says.

The comptroller’s office said the district should follow three recommendations. They are:

• Develop realistic estimates of appropriations and the use of fund balance in the annual budget.

• Develop comprehensive multi-year financial and capital plans.

• Ensure that the amount of fund balance is in compliance with statutory limits.

In a Sept. 22 letter to the comptroller’s office, district Business Administrator William T. Woods said the district would “prepare a corrective action plan and submit it in a timely manner.”

The district includes parts of the towns of Stillwater, Halfmoon and Schaghticoke. It has approximately 1,330 students.

Budgeted appropriations for the 2016-17 fiscal year totaled approximately $23.9 million.