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Audit: Mattituck Park District paid gasoline taxes even though it’s tax exempt

The Mattituck Park District failed to keep track of most its credit card purchases and paid $910 in gasoline taxes it was exempt from paying over an 18-month period, a new report shows.

In an audit released Wednesday, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found the district hadn’t adopted a credit card policy and didn’t keep records of who uses district cards, nor had it maintained proper documents supporting purchases.

The audit, covering the time between Jan. 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011, evaluated the district’s three general-purpose credit cards, six gasoline credit cards and six store purchase cards.

“We identified concerns with the documentation and support for $12,536 of the $20,704 of purchases made on these cards,” the report states. “In addition, we found that the district paid approximately $910 in various taxes on gasoline purchases that it was exempt from paying.”

The report also found the district didn’t have adequate internal controls over credit card use and didn’t segregate the financial duties of the treasurer and clerk.

In a letter responding to the report, Nicholas Deegan, chairman of the board of commissioners, said the board adopted a credit card policy on Oct. 13, 2011, and has agreed to monitor the work of the treasurer and clerk. The board is also in the process of recouping monies spent in error on gasoline taxes, he said.

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Mattituck Park District: Credit cards and segregation of duties