Erie County Clerk: Recent comptroller's office audit is incorrect
County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick disagrees, and stands by the audit.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The Erie County Clerk's Office says a recent audit done by the county comptroller's office is incorrect.
County Clerk Mickey Kearns says the audit showed the mortgage tax revenue was not collected and distributed correctly. He added that some cities and towns were shortchanged over $100,000, while others benefited from the misplacement of money.
Kearns said Comptroller Kevin Hardwick should remove the audit from the county's website, and start over.
"It took them nearly eight months to do this," Kearns said, "so it showed there was a lack of expertise, many of them never worked in the office before. It was really a rush to judgment."
Hardwick disagrees, and he stands by the audit.
"The clerk thought that he had evidence that we had made a number of mistakes in the audit," Hardwick said. "Really what he presented was further evidence that he really doesn't understand the audit itself."
A recent county audit found over $200,000 missing from the clerk's office, which led to felony charges against a former deputy clerk who is now accused of theft.