Southtowns Record

City of Lackawanna – Garbage Collection Fees (2021M-206)

Government
City of Lackawanna
Posted by publisher
Apr 8, 2022
Kind
State audit
Topics
Audits and oversight, Budget and taxes

Publisher's summary

City officials did not always assess and bill garbage fees in accordance with the City Code (Code). Officials also did not provide adequate oversight or develop policies and procedures for assessing and billing garbage fees.

Original document

Text · page 6 of 17

memos to the Assessor’s clerk and Treasurer so that the appropriate adjustments
could be made to the assessment records and/or tax bills. While the Treasurer
maintained copies of the memos, the Assessor’s clerk did not. Therefore, we were
unable to determine whether she received the memos.

The assessment roll was not updated to reflect the correct number of garbage
fees and/or the Treasurer did not correct the tax bills for seven of these 10
properties as follows:
  ll One single-family property’s owner contacted the City for a replacement tote
  in December 2020, and the DPW Commissioner discovered that a garbage
  fee had not been assessed or billed to this property even though collection
  services were provided. The Treasurer and DPW clerk told us that the
  property had erroneously never been charged a garbage fee. The DPW clerk
  sent a memo to the Assessor and Treasurer, but the property’s assessment
  was not updated and the Treasurer did not bill the owner for services
  previously provided. The City lost revenue of $254 on this property during
  our audit period.
  ll One single-family property built in 2018 was not previously assessed
  and billed a garbage fee. The Treasurer identified the discrepancy when
  preparing the 2020-21 tax bills, updated the tax bill and informed the DPW
  Commissioner. The DPW Commissioner prepared a memo to notify the
  Assessor’s clerk, but the property’s assessment was not updated.
  ll A new single-family property built in December 2020 was not updated on the
  assessment roll or billed a garbage fee. The City lost revenue of $127 on this
  property during our audit period.
  ll Two multiple-dwelling properties should have each been billed one additional
  fee. The Treasurer did not bill these property owners for the services
  provided, and the number of fees in the assessment system was not updated
  for either property. The City lost revenue of $508 on these properties during
  our audit period.
  ll One multiple-dwelling property with two units was not assessed garbage
  fees. While the error was identified when the property owner requested
  replacement totes from the City and the Treasurer billed the property owner
  for the services provided, the property’s assessment was not updated a year
  later.
  ll One commercial property, previously assessed and billed one collection
  fee, requested an additional tote in June 2020. The DPW Commissioner
  prepared a memo indicating an additional fee was to be added to the
  property’s assessment. The Treasurer updated the tax bill for 2020-21, but
  the property’s assessment was not updated. Because the Code does not
  indicate commercial properties are subject to an additional garbage fee upon

4  Of f ic e of t he New York State Comptroller