Great Neck Park District Officials Did Not Record All Capital Assets: NYS Comptroller

GREAT NECK, NY — Garden City Park District officials did not properly record and account for all the District's capital assets, as an audit recently released by the Office of the New York City reported.

In the audit report, the NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office stated: "Without accurate and up-to-date inventory records, District officials cannot ensure that all equipment is accounted for and easily located, which increases the risk that equipment could be lost, stolen, or misused."

The audit determined that the Great Neck Park Board of Commissioners did not officially appoint one person as property control manager to track the District's capital assets. Instead, they had the finance director and senior accountant share the responsibilities of this role. The Board also did not have a comprehensive capital asset policy to make sure officials properly recorded and accounted for all equipment, according to the report.

"As a result, there was a lack of clear guidelines for officials to track capital assets, increasing the risk of errors within the inventory records and the potential misuse of the District’s equipment," according to the Office of the NYS Comptroller.

When Patch reached out for comment, the Great Neck Park District Board of Commissioners responded with a statement:

"Thank you for the opportunity to provide some information relative to the recent Capital Asset audit report released by the NYS Comptroller’s Office. The audit process was extensive and included a cursory review of all of the District’s policies, procedures, and business practices. The audit revealed areas where the District can improve the tracking of its fixed assets to enhance the oversight and recording of our equipment.

While the findings leading to the specific recommendations were relatively minor, the Board of Commissioners acted quickly to review the recommendations carefully and work toward a full implementation. Some of the actions will include, but are not limited to, assigning a staff member the role of Property Control Manager, new asset management/inventory control software and annual staff training on the District’s fixed asset policy."

The audit period was from Jan. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2024, and the recorded historical cost for the District's capital assets totaled approximately $51.2 million as of Dec. 31, 2023. Machinery and equipment represented approximately $9.2 million, or 18 percent, of the total amount.

According to the audit report, a park district's capital assets represent a significant investment of resources, "and these assets need to be actively managed to ensure that they are adequately protected."

The audit found that the park supervisors tracked equipment based on their understanding of verbal procedures provided by the finance director, and the finance director did not distribute the procedures to the Board, superintendent or park supervisors. The report stated that this created a disconnect, leading to an increased risk that capital assets could be lost, stolen, or misused. One example is that park supervisors did not physically tag equipment or record tag information on the inventory list due to the disconnect.

Out of 50 items, it was reported that the Office of the NYC Comptroller could not determine if 3 of the items, totaling $3,605, were in the District's possession or not. These items were a popcorn machine, a laptop that was stolen, and a snowblower.

It was also found that the finance director has not conducted a physical inventory of park equipment in years, since 2012.

The Board also responded to the NYS Comptroller's office with a statement, including expressing their appreciation for the Office's professionalism.

The statement, signed by Great Neck Park District Commissioner Vanessa Tamari, partially read:

"The District agrees with the need to augment the systems and policies previously in place in order to maintain accurate capital asset records to safeguard District Capital Assets.

The District also understands the importance of maintaining a diligent focus on all District controls and safeguards. The District recognizes its obligation to submit to your office a detailed Corrective Action Plan within 90 days of the release of the final report, which we intend to do in a timely manner. The District concurs with the recommendations outlined in the report, and we are happy to share that a number of corrective actions have already been completed or are in the final planning stages."