Lower our taxes

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan were drowned out by a crowd of protesters as they summarized the results of an audit of town finances on Monday.

The protesters, led by Islip Town Board members Trish Bergin Weichbrodt and Steven Flotteron, who are Republicans, claimed Nolan “whitewashed” important, potentially incriminating parts of the audit while it was still in draft form.

Nolan and DiNapoli, both Democrats, said parts of the draft were altered, but the changes were legal, vetted by experts and are part of the process of finalizing an official document. They added that Bergin Weichbrodt and Flotteron had the opportunity to make changes to the document but never submitted any in writing.

DiNapoli’s official audit states that there is $12,250 missing from the town, and that from 2006 to 2008, town officials unnecessarily put $14.3 million a year in its fund balance, or municipal savings account.

Additionally, the report said the town comptroller charged about $10 million in revenues and expenditures to the wrong funds, leading to unfair tax increases.

Nolan, who took office in 2006, said the financial woes came from long-term mismanagement by previous town administrations.

“We’re going to keep taxes low and the bond rating high,” Nolan said after the conference.

Islip Town Comptroller Joseph Ludwig said the municipality has high bond ratings: AAA from Standard & Poors, the highest the firm gives; and Aa2 from Moody’s. The Aa2 is Moody’s third-highest rank.

After the press conference, Flotteron and Bergin Weichbrodt said the draft report stated that there was $23 million funneled into two different town accounts in order to make it appear the town was cash-poor.

They said Nolan used that as a reason to lay-off workers and raise taxes. Come next year, Nolan’s election year, he will be able to lower taxes, helping him get re-elected, Flotteron and Bergin Weichbrodt explained.

Nolan countered by stating that Flotteron and Bergin Weichbrodt do not understand the documents. He added that much of the money they are referencing was already set aside for future bills.

DiNapoli’s audit recommends that Town Clerk Regina Duffy investigate the missing funds and assign an employee to make sure all the cash adds up, among other proactive measures to ensure a financial mess does not happen again.