State audit critical of Town of Corning

A recent state audit of the financial condition of the town of Corning has brought some criticism. The state summary says…Auditors determined the board did not effectively manage the town’s financial condition, which resulted in the town-wide general fund having unassigned fund balance totaling nearly $769,000 as of December 31, 2019, or 79 percent of actual expenditures. In addition, the board did not develop multiyear financial and capital plans or adopt a reasonable fund balance policy. Town Supervisor Kimberly Feehan agreed with most of the report, but not all. She said communities such as the town of Corning that were carrying a little more in Unassigned Fund Balance can weather the storm of reduced revenues and will not need to raise taxes significantly on its residents. The Comptroller’s Office responded by saying the Board’s approach during this audit period and the last audit has resulted in taxpayers repeatedly paying more real property taxes than necessary.