The state Comptroller’s Office criticized the towns of Ripley and Dayton in its latest round of municipal audits.

Ripley got dinged for its tax collection protocol.

“The town clerk did not always record, deposit, remit and report all collections in a timely and accurate manner,” according to the Comptroller’s Office. “Because of this, there was an increased risk for money to be lost or used for inappropriate purposes. The longer collections remain unremitted, the longer they are not available for town operations.

“The audit determined the clerk did not deposit 2023 tax collections totaling approximately $882,000 within 24 hours or record 2023 tax collections totaling approximately $560,000 daily as required. The board did not conduct an annual audit of the clerk’s records, as required.”

Ripley Town Clerk Ryleigh Enterline said “we worked with (the Comptroller’s Office) all throughout 2024 and made a lot of progress.” She pointed out that she was not town clerk in 2023, the period targeted by the office.

Dayton, in Cattaraugus County, was hit for allegedly not following up on recommendations from its previous audit five years ago.

The Comptroller’s Office stated it “assessed the town’s progress in implementing recommendations in the town’s prior audit report (2019M-189), released in January 2020. The audit found the supervisor did not maintain accurate financial records. The audit included seven recommendations to help improve the quality of financial records and reports. The audit follow-up found that town officials have not taken corrective action, as none of the seven audit recommendations were implemented.”

Town of Dayton officials could not immediately be reached for comment.