Avoca audit leads to investigation
BY MARY PERHAM THE LEADER

AVOCA - A state audit of the Town of Avoca's financial records has led to a state police investigation of possible financial mismanagement by town employees.

The audit was requested by town Supervisor Christopher Wellington after he took office last year.

"I checked these (invoices) and I thought 'These don't add up,'" Wellington said. "I mean I'm new to this, but common sense tells you something's not right."

Wellington ran unopposed for the office last November, after long-time town Supervisor Helen E.R. Lyke unexpectedly resigned earlier in the year.

According to the state Comptroller's office, the town was awarded a $15,991 grant in 2004 for a records management office, to be separate from existing clerical duties.

The funds were meant to help officials, during non-business hours, organize and purge official town records.

However, after a joint investigation by the Comptroller's office and state police, auditors learned more than half the grant was improperly used to compensate town Clerk Kim Jackson and assessor's clerk Karen Pragle for work done during their normal work hours.

Auditors said the town clerk also reported the project had been completed in August 2006. But the investigation showed 80 percent of the town records still improperly contain a mix of active and inactive materials, according to the report.

The report also criticized the town board for not setting up a separate records manager, failing to require itemized invoices and not providing proper oversight of expenses.

Wellington said there is no mention of the grant in past town minutes.

He said the board has already followed the auditor's recommendations to prevent double-dipping and office mismanagement in the future.

Pragle, an appointed official, was fired by the town board Monday night, Wellington said. The firing was due to the Comptroller's report, he said.

Jackson is an elected official and can only be removed under certain circumstances. She was unavailable for comment last week.

Wellington said the Comptroller has not asked for the grant money to be returned, and the board is looking for ways to tackle the 39 boxes of records still waiting to be sorted.

"They paid us for it, now we've got to get it done," he said.

State police investigators will meet with Steuben County Attorney John Tunney before issuing their final report, Wellington said.