State audits find fault with Manorhaven

A state audit of the Village of Manorhaven's financial operations identified several problems, including a lack of control over village credit cards and payments to the village court that were deposited more than a month late.

The audit, issued by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office in June, examined the village's financial operations from between June 1, 2009, and Oct. 31, 2010, and the village's court operations from June 1, 2009, until Jan. 31, 2011. The audit found issues in several areas:

Employees did not keep individual timesheets, and there was no process allowing for supervisors to approve overtime.

The village did not seek other bids when awarding $155,000 in service contracts. While the village was not required to seek competition, the audit pointed out that doing so could have saved the village money. The audit stated that village officials told auditors that vendors were selected based on "personal recommendations."

The village had three credit cards, but not a formal credit-card policy, and 72 percent of the credit card claims during the audit period did not have receipts substantiating the charges.

The village had not adopted policies relating to computer security, leaving it potentially open to data breaches.

Village justice court bank deposits, required to be deposited in most cases within 72 hours of their receipt, were often deposited days or even weeks later.

The audit provided a list of 20 recommended actions that the village should take. The village has 90 days to craft a plan to make the corrections.

In a written response to the audit, Village Clerk-Treasurer Jonathan Fielding noted that the audit did not make any claims of official misconduct, and said that the village is working on corrective measures.

"The Village will continue to aggressively reform its practices in order to assure the highest level of service to the community," Fielding wrote.