ALBANY - State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office completed audits of the Town of Deerfield, Town of Newstead and the Town of Stratford.

Town of Deerfield – Financial Management and Fuel Inventory (Oneida County) The town board has not implemented adequate policies and procedures for fund balance. As a result, the town retained and/or accumulated excessive amounts of unexpended surplus funds in the general fund and the water and sewer districts that resulted from unrealistic budget estimates. In addition, the town did not review fuel usage reports or compare a perpetual inventory record to physical inventories of fuel on hand.

Town of Newstead – Joint Highway Facility Project (Erie County) Town officials did not fully inform taxpayers of the entire cost of building a joint facility to house town and Village of Akron highway/public works operations. As a result of poor planning and management, project costs have grown to more than $4.7 million. Auditors found change orders totaled more than $800,000, $438,000 of which were unrelated to the original project scope and were not competitively bid, as required.

Town of Stratford – Supervisor’s Records (Fulton County) Except for some minor exceptions, auditors found that the supervisor’s accounting records were accurately maintained and the financial information included in the annual update document was supported by the accounting records. However, auditors did not find evidence that the town board audited these records for the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years.