“he town of Duanesburg’s accounting records were unreliable and not accurately kept during 2019, according to a newly released audit from state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office.
The audit, which covered a 13-month period from January 2019 to January 2020, found that $590,808 in revenue and $55,182 weren’t recorded in the town’s books, that accounting records weren’t reconciled with bank statements, and that town books overstated the town’s bank balances by more than $3 million.
The audit found no misappropriation or malfeasance, though, and town officials said they began working to address the problems before the audit was even finished in late fall.
“There’s no money missing, no theft — it was just sloppy bookkeeping at the end of the day,” said Town Supervisor Roger D. Tidball.
At the time the town had two part-time bookkeepers, and he said the town has since parted ways with both of them, and is now using a financial services firm in place of a town employee bookkeeper.
Tidball, who was first elected in 2013 and is retiring later this year, said that after his first couple of years in office he started to become aware of late payments, unpaid bills and similar issues, but the Town Board initially believed the issues could be addressed internally.”
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Williams, Stephen. Schenectady Gazette 10 February 2021.