VOORHEESVILLE — The two women who keep Voorheesville running like a well-oiled machine, received the bureaucratic equivalent of rave reviews for their handling of the village’s billing, collection, and enforcement of water and sewer charges, according to a recently released state audit.

The audit, released on Aug. 23, by the Office of the New York State Comptroller, said that Linda Pasquali, the village’s clerk-treasurer, and Karen Finnessey, deputy clerk-treasurer, “accurately billed users for water and sewer charges; deposited water and sewer collections intact and in a timely manner; and enforced unpaid bills and correctly assigned interest and penalties.”

 As a result, the comptroller’s office made no recommendations.

To perform the audit, 50 water bills and 30 sewer bills were selected at random — an additional 20 water bills were handpicked by auditors — from the June 2018 master reading and recalculated based on applicable rates and recorded usage. After recalculation, the audit “found they were all billed at the correct amount.”

The 100 bills were then traced and it was “determined they were deposited intact and in a timely manner,” the audit states. 

As of June 1, 2018, the audit says, the village had sent out 1,233 water bills totaling $450,255 in fees, and 408 sewer bills with a total amount of  $211,010.

Each year, the village charges water users $200 in advance for 20,000 gallons of water, with any overage being billed the following year. 

Homeowners in Sewer District One — the Salem Hills Sewer District, which includes Maple Avenue, Mountainview Street, and Quail Run — pay an annual fee of $560. Single-family homes in Sewer District Two — along Pleasant Street — pay an annual fee of $372; and multi-family homes are assessed a $600 annual fee. Homeowners in both districts are subject to penalties for late payments. 

“Overall, the Board and officials established effective controls over the billing, collection and enforcement of water and sewer charges,” the audit concluded.