Auditor says 2025 town books show no material misstatements; notes FEMA shortfalls and aging utilities

Steve Veroff, CPA, joined the Williamstown Selectboard by phone to review the June 30, 2025 fiscal audit and told the board he did not find material misstatements in the town's financial statements. Veroff said there were no significant deficiencies in internal control uncovered in his procedures and noted his work included walkthroughs and sampling of disbursements across departments. "He issued a qualified statement meaning that there weren't any material misstatements: accounting standards or principles used that were inappropriate," he said.

During a question-and-answer period board members asked whether the former Town Manager had access to funds. Veroff said the former manager "had no access to funds, wasn't a check signer and didn't process any payments for anything," and that he "didn't uncover anything to lead him to believe anything had been taken" in the years he audited. He described sampling approaches — roughly 50–75 disbursements depending on the year — and encouraged ongoing budget-versus-actual reviews. Veroff also explained the town's net position drop was driven by one-time costs (including firetruck refurbishment) for which FEMA covered only part of the expense: the town "had to kick in about 20% to cover one-time expenses". He warned that water and sewer operations face continued pressure until aging infrastructure is replaced.