CLIFTON -- The Office of the State Comptroller blasted the Town of Clifton in a municipal audit, which revealed that poor bookkeeping made it appear the town was not cash-strapped, when in fact the town ended the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years at respective $140,000 and $325,000 deficits.

The audit covered Jan. 1, 2013 through Apr. 30, 2014. For most of that time, the town supervisor was Robert Snider. He resigned in Aug. 2013 and Charles Hooven was elected to the office that fall and began his four-year term on Jan. 1.

"The former Supervisor did not provide sufficient oversight of the bookkeeper to ensure that the Town’s records were maintained in a timely manner and were reliable," the audit reads. "Because the bookkeeper did not receive the guidance she required to address the Town’s cash deficiency, she used interfund loans and transfers to attempt to keep the Town operational."

The town's bookkeeper is Carol Aityassine.

"While she was experienced with recording routine transactions, she was not as experienced in regard to interfund transactions," the audit says. "This lack of knowledge resulted in misstatements in the Town’s accounting records, which obscured the Town’s true financial condition."

In 2012, this caused the town to incorrectly overstate cash onhand by $203,000.

The audit also said the highway department and its superintendent Kelly Smith were not doing proper research into buying new equipment, or seeking board approval before buying it.

"Town officials do not perform a formal needs assessment or cost-benefit analysis prior to acquiring highway equipment," the audit states. "In addition, we found no indication that the Board formally approved lease and lease-purchase agreements for two pieces of equipment that cost about $272,000 over seven years, one of which does not get extensive use."

The audit also lambasts the highway department because deferring associated costs with two of their leases mean they will have to cough up nearly $200,000 at the end of the contract.

"Lastly, two of the Town’s lease-purchase agreements do not comply with legal requirements, and the Town’s deferral of some of the associated costs will require it to raise funds to make substantial final payments totaling about $187,000 at the end of the contract periods," the auditors wrote.

The board told the auditors they are working to rectify the problems.

In a letter to the comptroller's office, Hooven said he would make sure Aityassine receives more adequate training and that town officials will keep a closer eye on their books.

Smith wrote a separate letter to the comptroller where he said he would do the required research into new purchases, seek board approval and pay closer attention to lease agreements.