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4.08 4.8 Audit—Accept for ToNvii Court for 2014—9-28-15 RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING AND ACCEPTING REQUIRED AUDIT RELATING TO QUEENSBURY TOWN COURT RECORDS RESOLUTION NO.: , 2015 INTRODUCED BY: WHO MOVED ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: WHEREAS, by Resolution No.: 337,2011, the Queensbury Town Board engaged the auditing services of Bollam, Sheedy, Torani & Co., LLP, CPA's (now known as SaxBST) to provide cash receipts and disbursement auditing services to the Town of Queensbury for the years ending December 31, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, and WHEREAS, the New York State Uniform Justice Court Act §2019-a and Town Law §123 set forth annual reporting, accounting and audit requirements for Town Courts, and WHEREAS, in accordance with such laws, the Town Board reviewed the audit reports pertaining to the Queensbury Town Court for the year ended December 31, 2014 and the Town Board wishes to acknowledge and accept the audit as having fulfilled the Town Board's responsibility to audit the Town Justices' records, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Queensbury hereby acknowledges and accepts the audit of the Queensbury Town Justice Court's records for the year ended December 31, 2014 as required by New York State Uniform Justice Court Act §2019-a and Town Law §123 as delineated in the preambles of this Resolution, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board authorizes and directs the Town Supervisor to provide a copy of such audit and a certified copy of this Resolution to: Joan Casazza, Internal Control Liaison, New York State Office of Court Administration, 2500 Pond View, Suite LLO1, Castleton-on-Hudson, NY 12033, and the Town Supervisor, Town Justices and/or Town Budget Officer to take such other and further action as may be necessary to effectuate the terms of this Resolution. Duly adopted this 14th day of September, 2015, by the following vote: AYES NOES ABSENT 2 • 1h ri iitf { r._,i��- {I. Achieving ACCOUNTING/TAX/ADVISORY September 16, 2015 Supervisor,Town Board, and Town Justices Town of Queensbury, New York 742 Bay Road Queensbury, New York 12804 Dear Supervisor, Town Board Members, and Justices: We visited the Town of Queensbury, New York (Town) on June 4, 2015, to perform the agreed-upon procedures of the records and dockets of the Justice Court (Court) for the year ended December 31, 2014, to assist the Town in meeting the requirements of Section 2019-a of the Uniform Justice Court Act of the State of New York(Act). The Act states in part "It shall be the duty of every such justice, at least once a year and upon the last audit day of such town, to present his records and docket to the auditing Board of said town, which Board shall examine the said records and docket, or cause same to be examined and a report thereon submitted to the Board by a certified public accountant, or a public accountant and enter in the minutes of its proceedings the fact that they have been duly examined, and that the fines therein collected have been turned over to the proper officials of the town as required by law." Based on our reading of the Act and discussions with a former Assistant Deputy Comptroller of the.Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Municipal Affairs (currently the Division of Local Government and School Accountability), the term "audit" as used in Section 2019-a does not contemplate an audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America as would be required in the performance of an audit as defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Accordingly, our procedures were based on an analysis of the Court's internal controls; on an analysis of compliance with controls and the fiscal responsibilities of the Court as identified in the Handbook for Town and Village Justices and Court Clerks (Handbook) issued by the New York State Office of the State Comptroller, and where controls are weak, on testing of specific documentation and procedures. Procedures and Findings Based on our analysis of the internal controls and administrative procedures of the Court and the fiscal responsibilities of the Court as identified in the Handbook, we performed the following: 1. Bank Reconciliations Procedure-The New York State Comptroller's Justice Court Fund requires that bank reconciliations be prepared on a monthly basis. We selected the months of October and December 2014 for review. Finding - We were satisfied that reconciliations were prepared for the selected months and that • reconciling items (outstanding checks and cash in transit) were appropriate. Support for balances in accounts was reconciled, and proper remittances to the State Comptroller were traced in the subsequent month. 26 Comput: D tvc: Wes . Albany, NY 12205 1 Phone (5)8) 159 6700/Fax (518) •159..o;li_'%/CaXI3S T corn ALBANY,NY CLIFTON,NJ MINEOLA,NY NEW YORK,NY 1 , • Supervisor, Town Board, and Town Justices Town of Queensbury, New York September 16,2015 Page 2 2. Monthly Reports to the Office of the State Comptroller Procedure - Monthly reports to the State Comptroller were reviewed, along with the appropriate payments to the Town Comptroller. This review was done for the months of October and December 2014. Finding -No exceptions were noted. 3. Cash Receipts Procedure We examined a sample of cash receipt entries in December 2014 (15 entries for each Justice) for collections made and compared those receipts to the Court's cashbook report. We compared collections shown in the Court's cashbook report for the month with bank deposits made from those collections. Finding -No exceptions were noted. 4. Cash Disbursements Procedure - The Court makes remittances to the Town Su ervi so r for collections reported to the Office of the State Comptroller each month. The Court makes disbursements for returning bail, transferring amounts to other courts, and other applicable disbursements. We examined, on a test basis,these disbursements for the months of October and December 2014. Finding - No exceptions were noted. 5. Determination of Monthly Accountability Procedure - In accordance with the Handbook, the Court is required to determine accountability at the end of each month. At December 31, 2014, the Court made the following determination of accountability: Justice Justice McNally Muller Total Regular Cash Accounts Cash in bank accounts at December 31,2014 Bank balances reported on bank statements $ 59,019 $ 40,437. $ 99,456 Add deposit in transit 1,447 2,460 3,907 Subtotal 60,466 42,897 103,363 Less outstanding checks 60,466 42,897 103,363 Adjusted bank balances $ - $ - $ - Accountability at December 31,2014 • ACCOUNTING/TAX/ADVISORY 1!linking if}r l?1tl / Achieving More • Supervisor, Town Board, and Town Justices Town of Queensbury, New York September 16, 2015 Page 3 5. Determination of Monthly Accountability-Continued Bail Cash Account (Note: Bail moneys are deposited into one bank account for both Justices) Cash in bank accounts at December 31,2014 Bank balances reported on bank statements $ 77,918 Add deposit in transit • - Subtotal 77,918 Less outstanding checks 193 Adjusted bank balances $ 77,725 Accountability at December 31,2014 Bail held for pending cases $ 77,725 Finding - No exceptions were noted. 6. Remittances to the Town Supervisor Procedure- In accordance with the Handbook, the Court is required to make monthly remittances to the Town Supervisor to transfer the amounts reported to the Office of the State Comptroller. We compared the disbursements made for two months (October and December 2014) with Court records and the list of reported amounts provided to us by the Office of the State Comptroller. Finding - No exceptions were noted. 7. Comparison of Dockets to Monthly Reports Procedure - We traced cases reported for the months of November and December 2014 to supporting documentation in the dockets (15 cases for each Justice). Finding - No exceptions were noted. Our procedures do not constitute an audit, as defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, of the records and dockets of the Court. Further, the results of applying the procedures described herein are not sufficient for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the internal controls taken as a whole and, accordingly,we do not express such an opinion. We reviewed the major systems and determined which systems might allow for the greatest risk of loss or incorrect financial data and, therefore, might be the most cost beneficial to analyze. Of those systems reviewed, we identified positive controls as well as any significant weaknesses. On the basis of our efforts, we enclose our findings and recommendations to the Town and the Court. We also discuss the tests that we performed and any indication of errors or reporting difficulties. ACCOUNTING/TAX/ADVISORY lin ;iiig DitFere ntly ' Achieving More Supervisor,Town Board, and Town Justices Town of Queensbury, New York September 16,2015 Page 4 Internal controls, no matter how well designed and operated, can only provide reasonable assurance that an entity's objectives will be achieved. The likelihood of achievement is affected by limitations inherent in all internal controls. These limitations include the reality that breakdowns can occur because of human failures, such as simple error, faulty judgment, circumvention of control by collusion, and the ability of management to override the internal controls. Additionally, in considering controls, one needs to consider their relative costs and benefits and consider what a prudent person would do in a given situation. Our tests and recommendations should be analyzed with a concern for reasonableness and cost benefit. Unreasonably restrictive controls and procedures can cause inefficiency and frustration on the part of the staff. Furthermore, the cost of implementing certain procedures may outweigh the perceived benefit. This is true of any.-internal audit efforts, whether performed by formal internal auditors, outside auditors, staff members, or Board members. Based on the procedures described above, we believe that adequate procedures have been conducted by our Firm to permit the Board to conclude that the records of the Town Justices have been "audited" as required by Section 2019-a of the Uniform Justice Court Act of the State of New York. This conclusion is based on our reading of the Act and discussions with a former Assistant Deputy Comptroller of the New York State Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Municipal Systems (currently the Division of Local Government and School Accountability). Because the procedures described above do not constitute an audit or examination in accordance with auditing standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), we do not express an opinion as to whether the records and dockets are prepared in conformity with AICPA presentation guidelines. We point out that our consideration of tests of the internal controls was limited to the tests and procedures described in this report and for the limited purpose of expressing an opinion related to Section 2019-a of the Uniform Justice Court Act and would not necessarily have disclosed matters that might be material weaknesses. In addition, because of inherent limitations in any internal controls, errors or fraud, or instances of noncompliance may nevertheless occur and not be detected. Because of the special nature of the procedures performed, it is understood that this report is solely for your information and should not be used by those who do not participate in determining those procedures. Once again, we thank the Town Justices and the Clerk of the Court for their high level of cooperation. We hope this report has been useful to the Justices and the Members of the Town Board. If you have any questions or comments concerning either our report or other areas that may be of concern to you in the future,we would appreciate you contacting us. We look forward to assisting the Town again in the future. Very truly yours, SaxBST LLP ?SA.: Paul L. Goetz, Partner PLG/dmc u � t_ ACCOUNTING/TAX/ADVISORY T I.:)ir tererif y /Achieving More • State of New York 'Unified Court System G3,1) of New Yo�4 ,,: 25 Beaver Street* Ai? New(York, NT 10004 - - (212)428-2100 f' �gF sor Court SVs Lawrence X 9Karks September 8, 2015 CfiiefAdministrative judge Supervisor John Strough Town of Queensbury 742 Bay Road Queensbury,NY 12804 Dear Supervisor Strough: Section 2019-a of the Uniform Justice Court Act requires that town and village justices annually provide their court records and dockets to their respective town and village auditing boards,and that such records then be examined or audited and that fact be entered into the minutes of the board's proceedings. The Unified Court System's Action Plan for the Justice Courts includes initiatives to improve accountability and controls over Justice Court finances and records. Among the initiatives is increased monitoring of town and village board compliance with section 2019-a. Accordingly, I am requesting that you provide a copy of your most recent audit or examination(calendar year ending 2014 or fiscal year ending in 2015)of your local court's records and a copy of your board resolution acknowledging that the required examination or audit was conducted. Please email the report and the resolution to jcasazzaanycourts.gov or forward to Joan Casazza, Internal Control Liaison, NYS Office of Court Administration, 2500 Pond View, Suite LLOI,.Castleton-on-Hudson,NY 12033. If you have any questions,please contact Joan Casazza at (518) 238-4303 or at the email listed above. Thank you for your cooperation. Very truly yours, /smug c: George Danyluk, CIA Joan Casazza, CIA, CRMA . •