JOHNSTOWN - In an audit of the Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery Board of Cooperative Educational Services, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found deficiencies in the running of BOCES' Central Business Office, but officials there said changes will be made to remedy the problems.

While BOCES plans to enact all of the seven recommendations made by the comptroller's office, Superintendent Geoffrey Davis said BOCES officials have taken issue with the tone of the report, which he called "unduly harsh."

The report criticized BOCES for designing its Central Business Office with the potential for risk. It states the design could increase the likelihood that errors in payroll, accounting and bookkeeping could go undetected.

Davis said changes have been made to the office to remedy the problem, but he noted examiners with the comptroller's office investigated hundreds of transactions within the Central Business Office and not one had an error.

"There's an undertone that we were somehow cavalier [in the design of the Central Business Office]," Davis said. "The initial read of the report is negative, when in fact there was a very positive finding in the audit."

The Central Business Office was formed about a year ago and has four participating districts - Canajoharie, Wells, Mayfield and Piseco. One of the criticisms in the report said data entry in the office is not standardized, but Davis said that's because of the desires of the four school districts.

"[The districts] wanted to be able to use their own forms, and we accommodated that," Davis said.

Regardless, BOCES will make the changes suggested by the comptroller's office. The office also suggested the Central Business Office institute a more complex and rigorous password system made up of 16-character passwords changed every 30 days. BOCES will comply with that recommendation, Davis said.

All the changes suggested by the comptroller's office will be implemented in time for the first payroll issued in September, Davis said.

In a letter to the comptroller's office, BOCES Board of Education President Robert Townsend said some of the issues the comptroller pointed out arose from BOCES trying to accommodate the districts in the Central Business Office.

"In most cases, the opportunity for risk has arisen from processing requests of the participating school districts, to which we agreed in the interest of customer satisfaction," Townsend wrote.

Wells Central School Superintendent Gavin Murdoch said he is aware of the audit but is confident Davis will remedy the situation. He said the district's experience with BOCES and its Central Business Office has been positive.

"This is their first year. They worked hard to accommodate us," he said. "It's a brand new venture, and there is always some processes that have to be smoothed out."

Kayleigh Karutis covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com