Summary of the NYS Local Governments and School Accountability audit of the City of Batavia's Business Improvement District.
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Purpose of Audit
The purpose of our audit was to determine whether City officials properly accounted for and monitored the Business Improvement District’s (BID) financial operations for the period April 1, 2015 through September 14, 2017.
Background
The City of Batavia is located in Genesee County. The City has approximately 15,500 residents and is governed by an elected nine-member City Council. The Council created the BID in 1997. The BID is a geographic area in which a charge is imposed upon benefited properties for improvements, operation and maintenance costs and other services such as advertising and promoting BID activities. The district management association (DMA) is a not-for-profit entity governed by its own board of directors, which performs many District day-to-day management functions. The 2017-18 BID charge was $55,742.
Key Findings
- The Council did not enter into a written agreement with the DMA or monitor the manner in which the DMA used BID funds.
- City officials did not maintain adequate records to properly account for BID funds.
- BID charges exceeded the statutory limit for 11 of the past 13 years by a total of approximately $464,000 or an average of $42,000 each year.
Key Recommendations
- Enter into a written agreement with the DMA.
- Monitor BID financial operations especially the manner in which the DMA uses BID funds.
- Levy BID charges in compliance with the statutory limit.
