Nassau Consumer Affairs Understaffing Puts Customers at Risk

The Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs was understaffed to properly conduct New York state-mandated inspections designed to prevent price gouging by unscrupulous retailers, an audit found.

According to audit results released Sept. 3 by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office, the agency’s Division of Weights and Measures failed to test 30% of retailers’ measuring devices during an audit of 50 inspections conducted between January 2022 and September 2023, did not keep complete inspection records as required by state law, and did not conduct any price accuracy tests despite department policy mandating such actions.

“When consumers shop for groceries or gas or even mulch, they expect retailers to be honest and the prices or the weighing machines they use to be accurate,” DiNapoli said. “If the price scanners or scales are wrong or the prices don’t match what’s displayed, that can add up and consumers can end up paying more for everyday items.”

The state’s 15-page audit was one of 10 reviews conducted among a sample of weights and measures inspection agencies across the state — with the larger audit finding that counties need to step up their efforts to protect consumers by routinely testing retailer devices and making sure consumers are getting what they pay for. State Department of Agriculture and Markets law requires counties to annually verify the accuracy of retailer scales, gas pumps and scanners, among other things.

In Nassau, state auditors said they found 118 of 395 devices inspected were not inspected, including 112 timing devices.

“The deputy director told us that … he generally does not test timing devices because he does not have enough staff to conduct such checks,” the audit found.

The county responded in writing that a full-time senior inspector retired during the audit period and another was training two new inspectors, which reduced efficiency. The county also said it planned to hire more staff for the department by this month, but it was not immediately clear whether that would be done by the time the audit was released. The county additionally responded that the timing devices do not have to be inspected, which state auditors said was not true.

As for the lack of price controls, the county responded that the Department of Weights and Measures did not conduct such controls, but other employees of the larger Department of Consumer Affairs did.

“The county’s Consumer Affairs Department staff confirmed that no inspections were conducted during the audit period to waive the item fees,” the auditor’s report said in response to that statement in the county’s response.

The audit also found that the county department did not have a system to maintain a complete and accurate master list of businesses or update equipment inventories. One key recommendation was for the agency to maintain a complete inventory of all businesses.

Nassau Consumer Affairs Commissioner John Capese wrote in response to the audit: “The Division of Weights and Measures will be in regular contact with the County Clerk, Department of Health and the Fire Marshal’s Office to compare new business databases and update them as needed.”