A recently completed forensic audit of the town of Cutler’s books has found multiple transactions that were lacking in full support or clear municipal business purpose, and without proper documentation it’s difficult to determine if transactions were actually town expenses. However, both the district attorney’s office and the town’s Select Board have decided not to take any legal action based on the audit report.
In February 2023, the town hired The CPA Solution of Bangor to conduct the forensic audit on the recommendation of the former town attorney. The forensic examination team reviewed and analyzed bank statements, warrants and payroll transactions from July 2019 through February 2023. The total amount disputed by the selectmen for the three-year period is $15,118, consisting of 115 transactions. There are also six transactions for building materials that were delivered to a personal residence with a value of $2,086.92.
A summary of transactions that were identified and questioned as to their true authorized municipal purpose include the following vendors: Home Depot; Tom’s Mini Mart; Shell Oil, aka Machias on the Run; Family Dollar; Marden’s; Walgreens; Machias River General; Amazon; Office Depot; Hannaford; Walmart; and Sam’s Club. There were also 30 restaurant transactions and 12 hotel transactions. A list itemizing these transactions is available at the Town Office.
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The report was completed on Oct. 8, 2024, and was turned over to the Washington County Sheriff’s Department for review. The district attorney has decided not to prosecute a case because the statute of limitations has expired on the majority of the irregularities found within and outside the scope of the forensic audit. This decision was given to the Select Board on April 3.
On April 9, the Select Board met with town attorney Amanda Meader to discuss the report from the sheriff’s department. Although a civil suit was a viable option, the board felt the cost and time involved in civil litigation was not in the best interest of the town, and they voted unanimously not to proceed with a civil litigation. The cost of securing a litigator to pursue a civil suit starts at $50,000, and due to courts being backed up the process could potentially take more than seven years to complete, with no assurance that any money would be recouped.
A copy of the report is available at the Town Office. In a letter to the townspeople, the Select Board stated that it recognizes the forensic audit has been a concern to many residents and it hoped that the conclusion of the audit will allow everyone to put this matter to rest and move forward knowing positive changes have been implemented to prevent instances of any potential future irregularities.
The Select Board had been informed by Ron Smith of RHR Smith LLC, the town’s auditing firm, that the audits for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 were completed, and he would release them once the forensic audit was finished. He now maintains that the audits aren’t finished, and he still is not releasing them. These audits have been paid for by the town of Cutler.
There are a number of checks and balances that have been added to office procedures to prevent this situation from happening again. A new chart of accounts to better track expenses has been established with assistance from The CPA Solution. The payroll is handled by an outside contractor, Bangor Payroll, which adds a second level of accountability to make sure all state and federal filings are completed in a timely fashion. All bank statements are reconciled by an outside accountant. The town is using Quickbooks online and www.bill.com, a process that allows all warrant payments to be checked twice by a quorum of select board members, and all expenditures are preapproved by the Select Board. The cash register is reconciled daily, and all monies received are deposited at least weekly. Both the town clerk and the deputy town clerk can access all accounts and perform all duties needed to run the office day to day. A number of those checks and balances were recommended in the past but were never implemented.
