The town of Poughkeepsie was left with a $1.5 million deficit in its major fund balances at the end of 2010, according to an audit released yesterday by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The town also failed to repay more than $3 million in inter-fund loans it made between different tax bases, according to the audit.
DiNapoli said the deficits were the result of unreasonable budget estimates, with the town overestimating revenues in its major funds by about $4 million in 2009 and $2 million in 2010, according to the audit.
Between 2008 and 2010, the town”™s three major funds declined from a total surplus of $77,500 to a combined deficit of $1.5 million, auditors found.
“Budgets should be an accurate financial blueprint so that local governments can provide needed services with the resources available,” DiNapoli said in a prepared statement.
The report from DiNapoli”™s office said the town used inter-fund loans, mostly from the town”™s water fund, to address cash flow problems and pay for recurring expenditures in the three major funds, which include the general town-wide fund, the general town outside-village fund, and the highway fund.
