Fishkill Audit Out, Deficit Balloons to $4.9 Million
By Michael Boyajian
The Poughkeepsie Journal reported today that the New York State Comptroller’s official audit of the Town of Fishkill is now out and it has found that the Town has been spending more than it has been taking in for several years which is sure to infuriate Tea Party elements within the town who have been big supporters of Town Supervisor Joan Pagones and that this deficit has ballooned to $4.9 million.
The audit found according to the Journal that the Town has covered the deficit by juggling money and that these allocations may not have been authorized under the law. Trust accounts may have been breached and forbidden water and sewer revenues tapped into. There was a great reliance on loans as well and that the Board may have used restricted moneys.
The audit also found that there was a lack of control and monitoring by the Board leading to a high risk that moneys may be misappropriated and it would go undetected. The audit also found problems with cash receipts.
The Town claims that they can dig out of this tremendous hole but skeptical residents are unsure how this can be done without borrowing through an issue of bonds. A bond issue would require a public dialogue by the secretive Board and it may be severely affected by the lowering of the Town’s bond rating by Moody’s to just above junk bond status. It is unsure whether this audit would further deteriorate the Town’s bond rating to perhaps junk bond status.
The Town has been under pressure of late from preservationists and environmentalists seeking to protect the graves of American Revolutionary War soldiers and the state’s purest aquifer from rampant development and the timing of this audit in conjunction with these other issues may lead to major upheaval when the Town elections come up next year.
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