The Baldwinsville Public Library has not been handling its private funds correctly, nor has it been properly keeping track of employee leave time, according to the state comptroller.
According to a Dec. 10 report from the Office of the New York State Comptroller, the library “does not have an effective system of internal controls over private funds” and lacks proper protocols for monitoring library employees’ leave accruals.
The comptroller’s office (OSC) examined the library’s employee leave and private funds records from July 2, 2012, to Feb. 28, 2014. The audit report says OSC and the State Education Department (SED) “do not have an accurate picture” of BPL’s finances because the library has not reported how it uses private donations and gifts.
As of Feb. 28, the library had about $175,000 in private fund accounts. The library’s seven-member board of trustees appointed a “treasurer of private funds” to handle the use of these private funds.
“Therefore, the treasurer, who is also a board member, could approve a claim that he/she prepared for payment,” the OSC report reads. “This lack of independence makes library assets more susceptible to misappropriation.”
Barbara Aitken, president of the library’s board of trustees, said the board did not foresee any issue with appointing one of their own as private funds treasurer.
“She was an excellent treasurer,” Aitken said. “But apparently according to the audit, it conflicts with what should happen.”
Aitken said the library may have the school district take over the handling of private funds accounting.
“Probably what we’ll do is look at having the school district treasurer [oversee the private funds] but also have one of our members be a liaison to that treasurer,” Aitken said.
While the board of trustees has reported the use of public funds to SED and OSC, Library Director Meg Van Patten said the library was not aware they had to report the use of private funds to the state as well. From now on, that information will be included in the library’s annual report to SED and OSC.
The comptroller’s audit also took issue with the way the library uses those private funds. Aitken explained that many private donations are earmarked or restricted for a specific cause; for instance, one donor requested that their contribution be used to buy mystery fiction in honor of the donor’s aunt. But she said those funds that aren’t specifically earmarked are used for whatever purpose the board sees fit.
“The unrestricted money goes into the private fund and is used at the discretion of the board,” Aitken said.
The comptroller’s report said such practices aren’t acceptable. For example, the OSC cited a $5,000 gift to former library director Marilyn Laubacher as “inappropriate.”
“The board president told us the board authorized the $5,000 gift, but there is no indication in the board minutes that the board formally approved the payment or the related warrant,” the report reads. “It is permissible for a public library to provide a token of appreciation, such as a plaque or other memento of nominal value, to an employee or volunteer in recognition of their service. However, the board is not authorized to make gifts or longevity awards to officers or employees as a gratuitous reward for services already rendered and compensated, unless payment is specified in a collective bargaining agreement or contract.”
Van Patten said the library keeps a log of private donations with the date, donor’s name, amount and purpose for the donation.
Aitken said the board must now put into place specific guidelines for the use of private funds, but she said there has been no wrongdoing on the library’s part.
“I can assure you that nobody played with the private fund. It was really very well-kept,” she said.
The OSC audit also found the library’s system of tracking employee leave accruals to be lacking. BPL has 10 full-time employees and 38 part-time or substitute employees. OSC found that the library does not have procedures in place to monitor how these employees earn and use leave time.
According to the report, full-time employees do not maintain time sheets, and requests for time off are made verbally or via email, recorded on the director’s desk calendar.
“The part-timers have a regular sheet to fill out because they’re paid based on whatever hours they work,” Van Patten said.
Van Patten said full-time employees complete a yearly calendar with requests for time off, a system the library has used since Laubacher’s tenure as director.
The audit report says this system makes it “virtually impossible for library officials to determine whether full-time employees’ leave is appropriately earned and used.” Notably, both the current director and former director exceeded the board’s approved limit of 120 sick day accruals in 2013.
Upon her September 2013 retirement from the library, Laubacher was paid $3,180 for 12 days of unused leave.
“Using the comp time rules from the board’s policy, we determined that the former director should have used 12 vacation days in place of the comp days she used in 2013,” the report reads.
The comptroller recommended that the board look into repayment of the $3,180.
While the library board has 90 days to submit a Corrective Action Plan (CAP), library officials have already implemented “tighter controls” to address the issues raised by the audit, Aitken said.
Van Patten said she has created biweekly time sheets for full-time employees to complete, and the school district has offered the library use of its WinCap data processing system to track attendance and leave.
“Those are quick, simple things to take care of,” Van Patten said.
Aitken said the board will spend its January meetings working out the CAP and making the library’s policies “more transparent.”
“We said all along we didn’t do anything [wrong] … and we did it openly,” she said.
For the full audit report, visit osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/libraries/2014/baldwinsvillepublic.pdf.
