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Home My WebLink About1955-1957 STATE OF NEW YORK DEP~bRT~i~NT OF AUDIT AND CONTROL (D~ISION OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS) AL?~ REPORT OF EXAJ~INATION OF THE ACCOUNTS AND FISCAL AFFAIRS OF THE TOWN OF SOUl. OLD (SUFFOLK COUN~) pursuant to Article 3, General ~$anicipa! Law. Period Examined: J~auary 1, 1955 To December 31:, 1957. Charles J. Shelanskey James R. DeMaio Ew-m~ nets Approved Jay R. Ne~an~ Principal Exami~mr ~nmici~l Affairs of Area To~m of Southold I~t{INC IPAL O~FICERS ~HO SER~ED DURING T~ PFRIOD EXAMINFD Supervisor Norman E. Klipp Town Clerk Justice of the Peace Ralph P. 5ooth Lester M. ~lbertaon (A) Hem~y A. Clark E. Perry Edwards Ral~ W. Tuthill Louis M. 'I~m~?est (B) Superinter~ent of Highways Harold D. Price W~slfare Officer Norms_n E. Klipp Receiver of Taxes Austin C. ~urt (A) Elected Council~u~ effective January 1, 1956. (B) Elected Counci3m,~n effective ~anuary 1, 1958. Town of' Southold Populatio_n U. ~' 1950 11,632 Of Which in Village 3,028 Incorporated Village ~olly within to'~ Gree~oort Districts Fire Districts (With treasurers other +~ban su;~rvicor) Other Dlstricts~ Cutchogue Light, ~ast Marion Light Fishers Island Light Mattituck Light ~1 Mattituck Light #2 Orient Light Peconic Light ~xtchogue East Marion Fishers Island Mattituek Orient Southold S<~thold Light West Greenport Light ~7.shere Island Ferry E. W. Greenport Fire Protection Orient Mosquito Southold Park Ma.ttituek Park Fishers :r-land Garbage and RefUse GoverninE Laws Town Law and otiher general law~ of the State of New york. Special Acts - Chapter 311~. Laws of 1920 (Suffolk Tax Act) " 113,~. " " 1860 (Five Justices) " 615~ " " 1893 (Town Trustees) " 6~c9~ " " 1947 (Fishers Island " 69~ " " 1952 (Garbage District) " 368~. " " 1953 (C~rbage District) Assessed Valuations Thc valuations placed upon t~ue t~ble property of the bow~ as a basis for distributing the taxes for the period examined and the certificates attached to the rolls to legally establish such valuations for taxable purposes and to collect the taxes so levied are as follows: Kind of Property Real Estate Special Franchises Total - T-~ble Ail Purposes Pension Exempt Total ~h!e ..Wroperty Date Verified by Assessors Date of Warrant to Collector County Equalization P~te $28,353,560.00 !,220,226.00 $29,573,786.00 389,095.00 $29,962,881.00 August 30, 1954 November 29, 1954 .781159% 1.175,690.00 $30~049,325.00 461,695.~ ,~0,~,~20.~ An~t 30~ ]955 Nov~r 28, 1955 $30,080,255.00 I~212,610.00 $31 ~ 292 ~ 865.00 503,685.00 $3i,796, ~50. O0 September !~ 1956 November ~0, 1956 .37% To~m of Southold Real Estate Taxes Real estate taxes levied for town a~ dist,'itt purposes ~,~ the amounts payable to 'the supervisor ~,~t county treasttrer &'re as foLl~qB~ Purpose " " - Item II " " - Item III " " - Item IV Fire Districts ~e Dis~ic~ ~k Distric~ S~i ~trie~ H~q~to Dis~ct ~r~ D~ict To~ ~e to T~ ~ $ .146,222.00 $ 168,994.20 $ 169,755.76 105,500.00 107,314.91 135,813.56 - 2,000.00 2,000.00 43,000.00 46,000.00 46,000.00 42,695.00 25,600.00 30,100.00 76,253 °46 86,372.75 89,9~)6.83 17,047.85 17,426.94 19,465.17 15,SS0.1S 18,882.43 18,843 12,489.78 13,8Ol.O8 19,226.92 ?50,722.53 808,353.60 882,497.32 2,009.68 1,509.32 1,516.11 29.631.33 2B,8~9=4~ 2~.876o31 $1,241,421.81 $1,325,114 .67 $17;4%891.74 ~22.183 .T7 236,602.78 346,216.24 $1.563.60~.5S $1.56~ .7~?.&5 1~.789.107.9~ Tam: Rates (Per $1,000.) exclusive of dis~,rict taxe~ Outside Villages Inside villages ¸5. Town of Southold Tax L~vies Taxes levied were verified to determine whether or not they were i~ accordance wi'th the s~m~ authorized in the to~m budget and other estimates presented to the board of supervisors. The accounts of the receiver of taxes were not included in this examination as such accounts are audited by the coun~z treasurer after the return of unpaid taxes s_nd settlement statements Furnished by him for 1955, 1956 and 1957 taxes indicated proper accounting for all tax moneys collected and unpaid. Taxes collected for the year 1958 and recorded in the cashbook of the receiver to December 31, 1957 were traced to bank deposits. *Properties held by the co~nty on %sx deed foreclosures were not made subject to special district taxes, nor to general town taxes after three years from date o~ deed, as required by Section 4(3) of the Tax L~. *The cashbook of the receiver of taxes was not maintained on a daily basis,$ entries varying from intervals of three days to a week.. ~ addition, tax moneys were not deposited intact; an amotu~t, varying damly, having been kept on hand for change purposes. Other than during peak collection pe:riods~ deposits were made generally once a week. Section 37(1) of the To~nLaw provides that the receiver shall make daily entries of moneys received and deposits of the came within twenty-four hours thereafter. Penalties on ~linquent ~xes A considerable number of entries of taxes collected in each year of the period ex,mined were made under the caption "Mail of Janusa~ loth" on whic~ no penalties were collected. The examiners were informed that these entries indicated items which were mailed and bore postmarks of January 10th, but were not actually received in the t~x receiver's office until after Jamaary lO~. A few cases were noted in months other t~n January, wherein increased penaltie were not imposed beginning on the elevent~ of the said mon$~s, a few days grace~u having been given in such cases. There is no authority permitting pa~ent without charge when an envelope, although postmarked before, is received after the due date. It has been held that payments to be timely must be in the collector's office on or before the due dat~ and that any p~yment received after due date is subject to the prescribed penalty. (7 Op. State Comptroller, 3~2, 1951; 10 Op. State Comptroll%r, 64, 1954) The only exception to the foregoing Is that if the due date falls on a Sunday or a public holiday, payments may be made on the following business day without additional charge. (Sections 20, 24 and 25-A, General Construction Law) *Comments appeared in prier reports. o Town of Southold Tax Exemption - Lone Island Railroad Although t~e Long Is~land Railroad w~s granted partial exemption from taxation in accordance with the provisioms of Section 4(21) of the Tax Law~ i: the procedure followed iz. dealing with the exemption was such that the ~ ~mount of revenues needed was not included in the tax levy. ~ ~l~e town determines a tax rate cs if property of the Railroad Redevelopmen~ :~ Corporation had no exemption; extends taxes against all properties at this rate ~ and retu:~ the exempt portion of t~xes ~Etended on the railroad properties to ~i the county treasurer as return,~ taxes. This~ procedure is improper for it sets up a tax levy inadequate, for i~dgetary appropriations ~nd results in including in returned taxes an !,uncollectible item. In order ~o include in the tax levy prevision ~or the i! amount of' revenues neede~l~ it 1s recommem~ed that the procedure outlined in !ill Opinio~ State Comptroller, 72Z, 1955 'be followed. ! Indebtedness t Outetar~ting Issued Paid Outstanding Beginning During Doting End i ,,purpose of Period Period Per,iod of Period i . qnds: t! $ - : ?,ooo.0o $ 4, o.oo !i:~'~ ~p~ tel - 5~200.00 2,000°00 3~200.00 !iI [,~dget 20~000.00 33,715.00 48.400.00 5.315 .OO ~i Special District Bonds $66,0~,~. ~0 '$~, ..~0.00 $~8,000.00 $?3,000.00 .Special District Notes $ - $45~ :0.00 $45~000.OO $ - '~ Ex~mination of the eaths of office on ftl, in the county clerk's office ild. isclosed that all town efficials filed oaths of office in statutory form i,~for the p~riod e~mfued. tlil Ali. ~f the required un~ert~kings were found on file for the period examined. Town of Southold '~Receipts am5 Disb~rsement~ Except as hereinafter stated, all moneys determined to have been received ~. ere properly recorded a~ accounted for and all disbursements were made in !; accordance with statuto~r requirements. ~' Town Clerk il Fees collected for transcripts of births, me~-~-iagee and deaths were i iaoeepted as recorded simc~e t~here ~ no m.eana available for satisfactory audit !thereof. Receipts for such fees should be issued according to the. provisions :!'.of Section 99-b of the General Municipal Law. ; Building InspectOr ii~ Monthly reports of ~oneys received were not filed by the building [?iluspector as required by Section 29(1) of the Town Law. !!![ Receipts were issued for fees collec+-ed when paid in cash but not ~hen i!paid by check. Receipts should be issued in all cases. i~l J~stiees of the Peace ' A fe~ overpa~ente and ,~erpayments of fines and fees were ~de to ~e iState Comptroller by ~astice of the Peace R. W. Tuth~l~. After re~iew of these i~tems vith the Justtce~ it was determined that the net amount due '.for cases i~isposed of as at the close of the audit period was $40.00. T~e Justice stated !.that he h~d made a separate remittance therefor under date of ~ 2a. th~ 1958. ~li~ Disposition of some cases handled by the Justices indicated s~ntences cf both fine and imprisonment with the prison sentence suspended. In a few other ~ses, fines were imposed but portions thereof suspended. It h~s been held that a magistrate c~mnot impose a sentence of' both fine md impri~sonment a~ s%tepsud the prison sentence upon pa~ent of the fine~ ~ince the authority of the court is confined to the suspension of ~be entire ,entence, not merely a p~rt of it. (Section~ 2188 of the Penal Law and 490-a ~f The Code of Criminal Rroced~re, as ame~ed; 1941 Op. Attorne~-f~meral, ]%6) It h~s also been held that upon co~.ction of a defendant in a court of Special sessiona~ a JUStice of the peace mmy not suspend a portion of a fixed ~ine. (3 Op. State Cc~ptmsller~ 179~ 1947) Department Purchases of cement were ~e during 1957 ~hich aggregated aPt~xlmntely ;welve h~dred dollars ar~! which were not advertised for public bidding thereon. It has been held that if the cost of an item of supply aggregm~tes more thaz It~O00.O0 in an operating year, the contract must be submitted to competitive ~idding. (Section 103 ~eneral Municipal Law; 11 Op. state Comptroller, 99, 1955) Town of Southold !~ P~rch~see - Police Department ': During 1957 purchasers wer.~ made of gasoline and tires for th~ ~lice department~ ~ich aggregated in excess of four thousand dollars $1.~ fourtee~n ~hu~red dotlars~ respectively, amd which ~ere not advertised for put,lie bi~ding, f~ t~ereO~l. i' ~ specific opinion cf the State Comptroller's office (File Nc.. 7847, 1956) '.dealing Mith such purchases when amounting to mor~ th~n $1,000.00 in one year ~concludes that they should be let to competitive bidding. (Section 103~ C~neral i ~nicipal Law) Special District~ Funde~ Although special die, triers receipts ~n~ disbursements were contained in one bank account, this bs~k account al~o included some general fund mone~. The account was identified as a general fu~d account and ~ cheeks applicable .to special districts expenditures were s~ailar~ identified. I ~oneys credited to each fund should be deposited in a separate bank accoun*, i..iAll speciel district funds may be deposit~ in one bank account. ~ne records ii'currently maintained indicating the be.DAnce for each particular district should lilcontinue unchanged. (Sections 29(1), (2), (4) and 119, Town Law; 5 Op. State ilComptroller, 561, 1949) ~ It was noted that as of December 31, 1957 there was a deficit balance of !ithe ~attituek Light District No. 2 account in the amount of $217.~. Sectionz !~119 and L~0(1) of the ToMn Law provide ~e~t no ~nd shall be over~h~aw~. Welfare ~ ccount~ Fxamination of the welfare accounts ~iisclosed that claims for reimb~r~emen~ ~uring the period examines were based upor.~ expenditures act,,s~y m~de by ~e I'.~own. However, an amoullt alaimed for burial costs Mas $100.OO in excess of the I~mximum ~llowed. The deC,ils of this transaction are included in ~ separate report of examination of the ~elfare accounts. '~ At the present time eight different cash ~ookm are maintained for recordin~ i ~eceipts and disb~rsemen~ of the various town ~mnds. ~i It ia recommended t~t cash receipts amd disbursements of all 2ands be ~onselidated in one cashbook, with the exception of the highway acco~mta which ~ay be ma~tained solely ~ the supervisor~s highway account boole. The s~heidiary recer~ of b~_~cea, receipts and disbursements of each ipecial ~istrict should be continued. Fund 2eneral $~hool Agency and Spec~3 Districts ~ ~ (For G~neral School Agency an~ Tm.~t Tax ~ (For ~i~ti~) To~ Agency and Tr~t Tax ~and (~r Dis~-ibution) Special Dis tric?~ Totals SUMMARY OF BaLaNCE3, P~OEIFTS A~D PAYMt~?S F~OM JANU~Jff 1, 1~55 TO D~MBER 31, 1955 T~tal Receipts Balance During and 1/1/55 _ ~ear Re,ipSo $ 47,111.51 $ ~/?:,2~9.67 $ 291,401.18 40,785.49 201,359.56 242,1~5.05 -0- 638, 073.94 63~,0~3 800.71 123.00 923.71 1,352.76 20,231.29 21,5S4.05 1,1~9.22 123~817.05 125,006.2~ I~ROM JANUARY 1, 1956 TO DE~.~4BER 31, 1956 $ 239,937.95 206,,985.21 638,073.94 ~!3.71 20,036.46 123,215.32 $2,6~.6~0.~ 'roan of Soutbold Balance $ 51,463.23 1,547.59 1,790.95 16~ ,2%4.17 $253.2O5.78 Total Receipts Balances im~nce D~ring ~ Durir~g Balance $ 65,8~.~ $ 269,~2.38 $ 334~2.35 $ 274~3:L5.~ $ ~556.46 30~6~.65 226,~.59 256,926.~ 2~,474.54 50,451.70 ~ ~6,5~.~ ~6,505.69 ~6,5(~.~ 1,7~.83 23,136.~ ~,~.~ 22,~.20 1,~.~ 194,0~.59 1,765,856.33 1,959,9~.92 1,761,~.83 198,~5.~ ~4~183 ~9 ~.3~,~0.40 ~.~9.~3.~ $3.336.~'9.~ $313. SZI: .23 FRO~ ~A~IARY 1, 1957 TO DE~BE 31, 1957 Total ~eceipts Balances Paym~ats Balance During ~ Dur~,~g P~ - -ce 1/1/56 _ ~e~r Receipts ,., Y_e~__ 12/31/56 $ 51,463.23 $ 267,982.80 $ 319,~46.03 35,159.84 228,210.01 2630369.85 232,~5.20 30,684.65 -0- 935,234.81 935,234.81 935p234.81 1,547.59 22,02~.34 23,571.93 21o867.10 1,704.83 163,244.17 1,691,g72.67 1,855,216.84 1,661,129.25 194,08~.59 1.790.9~ 1~,992.~2 18A,783.47 182.9~47.02 1.836.45 $2~3,20~.78 $3,328.A17.15 $3.5~1,622.93 $3.28~,~39 .4/+ $294,183.49 Town of Southold SCHFDUI~; 2 P~CONCILIATION OF CASH BALANCES WITH CASH IN EANKS AT CLOSE OF ~USINFSS DEO~MBF~ il, 1957 ::Total Cash Balanees to b~ Accounted for (Schedule 1) for as follows:: Account Bal ..anco C~neral $ 43,992.8~ Welfare 318.90 Receiver of Taxes 198, 075.09 Withholding Tax 1,902.53 'Jar Bond 59.34 School Tax 259,146.78 General 6,113.54 General 13,588.57 Highway 21,180.15 ighwa 32.069.4? $576,~47.26 '~First Nationa2 - Greenpox~ Fork Ba~ - Southold Fork Bank - Nattituek Fork - Cutc o -e !~North Fork Bank - Greenport Totals Verified from Certificates of Deposi?~ries. C~ecks 0:tsta~in~ $ 1,231.0~ 47.00 259,146.78 .25 24.95 2.772.~ $263,223.03 ~t 198,(~75.091g 1, ~)2.53 59.34 6,1213.54! 13,~88.32~ 21,155.20! 29,2~.50i 11. Town o£ Sonthold Daily entries shou~Ld be made by the receivar of taxes received and deposltai;, should be made wit2~.n twenty-four hours thereafter. · ', Prescribed peak!ties should be impos~ on all taxes received after the "'~; The procedure followed in dealing wl~ the exemption of the Long Y~land I ~ilroad should be revis~ as reco~mnended. ~,, Receipts should be issued for moneys collected ~y officials az~l employees lin accord4mce with the provisions of the General Mmnicipal Law. ~; Justices of the peace should not suspend 8 portion of the sent~e.e or i!i Contracts should be ~ubmitted to competitive bidding after public [t $dvertising there°n cn ali. itemm off supply that aggregate more than $1,000.00 il Special distA'ict funds should be maintained in a separate bank account and dentified properly. No fund er appropriation account should be permitted to be ove:.~irawn at time. ~ A consolidated cashbook should Be used as recommended in the bedy of this ~, port. Oertifica_tion I~ CFL%RLES J. SHELANSK~Y~ do hereby certify that I am an E~miner i~ the New York State Department of Audit and Control; that pursuant to law I have made examination of the Accounts and Fiscal ~f.Tairs of the T0~N OF SOUTHOLD, County ~iof Su~£olk~ that I have read the foregoing report of such examination and that :' the same is true to the best of m~ t~.o~ledge~ information and beliaf. l~Dated · 'i ~ ~ ': ~'~ '¢ E~ner of ~_m~cipal Affairs