Petition drive underway to declare Town budget null & void

Petition drive underway to declare Town budget null & void

Bill Hill of West Babylon, signs petition to declare Town budget void. Left to right are Ian Wilder, Hill, Kimberly Wilder and Ruth Hill.

Residents raise questions about budget process and Town's fiscal health after auditor cited by state for reporting errors

by Carolyn James

Calling the Town of Babylon’s latest budget nothing more than a "shell game," a small group of residents gathered on the steps of Town Hall a few weeks ago to declare it null and void. And, they are now pressing the incoming administration of Supervisor-elect Steve Bellone to fire the Town’s financial director Doug Jacob and to conduct a full and complete audit of the town’s books.

"The Town Board, under Supervisor Richard Schaffer, held a public hearing on one budget, which called for no tax increase, and then, after the election, presented an entirely new budget calling for an 8.9 percent tax increase without giving the public an opportunity to review it," said Kimberly Wilder, a resident and candidate who ran and lost a bid for a county seat in November. "That’s dishonest and unacceptable and as far as we are concerned makes this budget void."

Wilder is mounting a petition drive, and is appealing to the New York State Comptroller asking that his office act on their behalf and void out the budget. A spokesman for the Comptroller’s office said, however that the Comptroller had no jurisdiction to void a budget and that the legal avenue for those who have such a grievance is to file a formal challenge with the courts called an Article 78.

Ceremoniously, Wilder stood on the steps of Town Hall and held up a copy of the budget, stamping it void. She played a version of what she and her husband Ian, a Green Party candidate who ran for Town Supervisor in November, as the Babylon Shell Game, shuffling cups around that represented the Town’s different budgets. They were joined by West Babylon residents Bill and Ruth Hill, who said the way in which the Democrats presented this year’s Town budget was patently unfair. They were also joined by "the ghost of budgets passed."

"How do you tell the people one thing before an election and then turnaround and do something entirely different after they elect you," asked Hill who signed the petition.

"It is not out of the ordinary for changes to occur throughout the budget process and between the adoption of the tentative budget and the final budget, which is what happened here," said Supervisor-elect Steve Bellone in commenting on the criticism. "There are always a lot of issues to deal with and we have to be prepared to act when things occur."

Bellone counter charged that Wilder and her group of activists are continuing a campaign after the elections and into the New Year.

"That’s fine," he said. "They can perform their skits on the steps of Town Hall while we keep making the decisions that need to be made to keep the Town running ad moving in the right direction."

One civic leader disagreed. "The residents of the town are entitled to a full and detailed explanation from the Town Board about where and how our money was and is going to be spent," said Alberta Constantino president of the Joint Civic Association. "This is only fair in light of the recent allegations of wrong doing made against Mr. Doug Jacob. Regardless of Mr. Jacob’s guilt or innocence, the people of the town have lost trust and faith in him."

Jacob was found guilty last year of filing false documents with the state in connection with the transfer of $6 million from the Town’s garbage district to the general fund. He is appealing that case, but that, combined with the recent news that the Town’s auditor had surrendered his license, places serious doubts about the town’s financial records, said Paul Sauberer, a Republican who ran against Bellone in November. Sauberer said the Town should conduct a complete audit of its finances, immediately.

"This takes on more importance in light of the fact that the Town’s auditor surrendered his license to the state, declaring the town’s records worthless," said Sauberer who has been asking for the audit for months.

The auditor, Gargiulo, reached an agreement with the state after he was charged with a number of improprieties as they related to the process used to audit the town’s financial records.

Dan Martin, a CPA from Babylon, who reviewed the Town’s financial records and raised the question of Gargiulo’s work with the state when he saw discrepancies, agreed with Sauberer.

"He (Gargiulo) surrendered his license..... because he claims he had no defense against one of the 24 counts against him," said Martin. "I read the charges and I doubt if he has any defense at all. Frankly, the severity of these audit deficiencies indicates that the Town has never had a financial audit for at least eight years."

Martin said the Town should conduct the audit and then collect the costs from its insurance carrier "These were technical accounting errors," said Bellone. "They (the errors reported) did not change the integrity of the numbers and had no impact on the substance of the Town’s finances. If they had, we would not have gotten two upgrades in our bond ratings, with a positive outlook."

Martin disputes Bellone’s assessment saying the problems run deep into the town’s financial coffers. "All I want is the truth,"he said, adding that the town could recoup the cost of the audit by suing Garigulo’s insurance carrier.

In other business, the town board:

•heard a proposal from Jopal, for a zoning change n 11.6 acres of property on the north side of Wyandanch Avenue, east of Governor Avenue, Wyandanch to senior citizen, multiple residence.

The developers want to construct 164 senior housing rental units there. The site was approved in 1985 for 375 units, but the development was never built and the approvals lapsed.

Steve Kretz, an attorney with the law firm of Kretz and Garabrandt of Lindenhurst, who represented the developers said all of the traffic, environmental and parking issues have been addressed and that the proposed project is the best use of the land.

"It is in keeping with the concept of smart growth, is dramatically reduced from what what proposed here in the mid 1980s and will generate taxes for the Wyandanch School district," he said.

But some residents opposed the project, saying it was ill-conceived and would eventually become multiple residence housing for social service clients. They also objected to it because of its location near an industrial complex.

"I cannot see any reason why anyone would want to pay $1,250 or more a month to live in the area with noise, factory buildings, and 18-wheelers," said Bernese Bosta.

One industrial property owner near the site disagreed, however. "We welcome this development because it will improve the area, which is an eyesore," said Richard Spinelli of Bryant Air Conditioning, at 420 Wyandanch Avenue.