Schoharie County Board Holds Off On Special Financial Audit

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — Schoharie County's Board of Supervisors is holding off  for now on an independent forensic audit that would examine the issues of alleged unreconciled checks and health insurance overpayments.

Supervisors have recently claimed that 8,500 checks have not been reconciled and there's been overpayment on health insurance accounts. At the Friday, Jan. 17 BOS meeting, a motion by Supervisor Alicia Terry of Gilboa to conduct an independent forensic audit was voted down after extensive discussion.

The independent audit could still be coming, but most BOS members feel the office of County Treasurer Mary Ann Wollaber-Bryan and the county's regular auditing firm should first be given time to get to the bottom of the finance issues.

"I support an audit but only after we've given them an opportunity," Supervisor Werner Hampel of Cobleskill said.

"We've started down a road and we should continue on that road," BOS member Earl VanWormer III of Esperance added, referring to the BOS giving the Treasuer's Office at least until the end of the month to resolve, or at least take a significant step toward, resolving the issues.

But Terry's thought process was somewhat different.

"This body has a fiduciary responsibility," she said. "I think we need to undertake that step (independent forensic audit). Somebody has to get to the bottom of this. We're just delaying an opportunity. We're just kicking the can down the road."

Comments from BOS Chairman William Federice of Conesville indicated that an independent forensic audit will eventually be done, and in the not-too-distant future. Some of his remarks came in response to those made by Supervisor Philip Skowfoe of Fulton, who wondered why an independent forensic audit would be needed and that an examination of the issues by the county's regular auditing firm could provide resolution on the matter.

"Why would we want to pay somebody else when they will be able to explain what happened and why," said Skowfoe.

"Would it not be better to get a fresh set of eyes on it?" Federice responded.

During both the Jan. 17 BOS meeting and the Jan. 15 county Personnel/Finance Committee meeting, there was a consensus reached to strive for much better communication and cooperation among county departments like the Treasurer's Office, and between departments and the BOS.

In addition, Supervisor and Finance Committee Chair Alex Luniewski of Wright and Supervisor/Finance Committee member Jeffrey Haslun of Richmondville said they would take Wollaber-Bryan up on her offer soon and visit the Treasurer's Office to get a first-hand look at how things operate there and how work on the issues is progressing.

In addition to the check reconciliation and health insurance overpayments, it recently came to light that mistakes were made in the final printed version of the 2025 county budget.

At both the Jan. 15 and 17 meetings, Wollaber-Bryan spoke extensively and emphasized how hard she and her Treasurer's Office staff are working to resolve the financial issues. She said most if not all of the problems are being caused by a new software system instituted last year called Tyler Munis.

At the Jan. 15 meeting, she said the statement that "8,500 checks are not reconciled is a blatant misrepresentation of what occurred." Wollaber-Bryan continued at the Jan. 17 meeting that the "Treasurer's Office has never had a problem before this system. We never had anything like this happen. The new system is very complicated and very different from what we're used to.

"We are working as a team on reconciliation. We don't have the capacity with this new system to do what we've always done. I don't want to blame the Tyler system, but it's a learning curve. That's what this was."

Luniewski said at the Jan. 15 committee meeting he was upset to learn in a Dec. 31 email that some numbers in the final printed version of the 2025 budget were not what he thought they would be.

"How did we make these errors?" he said. "As finance chairman, that just boils my blood to no end. What we made in our final budget motion was not what was printed. I'm actually embarrassed about this. How do we avoid this in the future?"

Two of the answers that came out of both meetings are better communication among all county officials, and having the Treasurer's Office double check all budget numbers before they are printed in the final budget booklet, something that Wollaber-Bryan said did not happen this past year.

Luniewski said near the end of the Jan. 15 committee meeting he is ready to move forward in a spirit of better communication and cooperation.

"Today's conversation, as rough as it's been, we know that tomorrow is a new day," he said.

"Measures have already been put in place," Wollaber-Bryan said at the Jan. 17 BOS meeting. "The biggest one is working together and being open and transparent. Do not hesitate to come into my office at any time to sit and ask questions. And the same for the public. Call my office. I am confident as we continue working together, we will resolve this going forward."