ALBANY - State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced his office completed an audit of the Village of Catskill – Fiscal Oversight and Internal Controls Over Selected Financial Activities.

According to the report, the village board and president did not effectively oversee the village’s financial operations and failed to address significant weaknesses, identified in our previous audit, in budgeting, accounting, reporting, cash management, and claims processing. These inadequate management practices have contributed to the deteriorating financial condition of the village’s primary operating funds, perpetuated a reliance on interfund transfers to maintain cash flow, and placed the village at risk of fiscal stress that could jeopardize its ability to operate effectively.

For example, due to poor planning and unrealistic budgeting, the total fund balances of the village’s main operating funds (general, water, and sewer) decreased by $933,727 (58 percent) over the three fiscal years 2004-05 to 2006-07. At the end of 2006-07, these three funds had a combined operating deficit of $574,876, or 36 percent of their total fund balance at the beginning of the 2004-05 fiscal year.