Miscalculations, Lax Oversight at Village of Wellsville

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Calculation errors and lax oversight caused the Village of Wellsville (Allegany County) to overpay seven employees more than $21,000 for benefits to which they were not entitled and to mistakenly pay a company $10,000 more for a loan than it had expected to receive, according to an audit released Wednesday in a press release by New York state Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi.

Click here to view the full pdf audit. Click here to read the full press release.

Auditors also found that the village had no documentation to demonstrate that almost $20,000 or 68 percent of credit card charges over a two-year period, was spent for village purposes.

The Village had 48 full-time and 10 part-time employees and an operating budget over $6.9 million in 2005.

Key findings during the audit period from June 1, 2003 to Feb 22, 2005 were:

• Errors in Calculating Employee Benefits.
• Miscalculation in Providing Loan Funds.
• Poor Oversight of Credit Card Purchases.

Auditors recommended that the board:

• Review legitimacy and accuracy of all separation payments, and expenses in general, before they are paid by the clerk-treasurer. In response the village now requires each employee to have an exit meeting to review benefit payments, and requires the board to review each case before employment ends. One employee has agreed to return overpayments, and the village is considering taking legal action with others who have not cooperated.
• Ensure that loan payments match authorized amount. The company which received the $160,000 loan has agreed to repay the extra $10,000 received.
• Establish written policies for the use of credit cards, and require signed receipts to be attached to the bill before payment is authorized. As of May 2006 the board has instituted a credit card policy that requires each charge to be authorized by two officials and receipts to be attached to card statements.

“Although there were problems found, I believe they were honest mistakes and the person(s) responsible did in no way benefit from them,” wrote Mayor Bradley Thompson in his response to the audit. The full response is included in the audit.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 7/6/06