Reproduced with permission of The Journal News.
Former town comptroller clarifies facts on WestHELP agreement
By NORAH McAVOY
(Original Publication: December 8, 2006)
I was appalled to hear my name mentioned repeatedly in a derogatory manner at a recent Greenburgh Town Board meeting. There have also been references to my tenure recently in Journal News articles and editorials (referencing bookkeeping of money received by the Town of Greenburgh as rent from the WestHELP homeless shelter). I would like to set the record straight regarding my involvement with the recording of the initial receipt of funds pertaining to the WestHELP agreement.
On Aug. 12, 2003, the town received a check for $1,950,948 from WestHELP. Since I had not received the executed contract pertaining to this receipt, I was unable to determine if any of these funds were to be used for any purpose other than rental income, such as capital improvements or as a security deposit. The money was immediately deposited into the town's bank account and credited to the deferred revenue account, pending receipt of the executed contract.
At the time I left my position as town comptroller on Sept. 12, 2003, I had not received the executed contract and the funds remained in the deferred revenue account. It is my understanding that the documents were received by the comptroller's office after my departure, and the entries were made prior to year's end to allocate the funds per the approved agreements.
I would like to note that the budget process was still open for revision at the time I left my employment and I am not aware if the contracts were received prior to the December 2003 adoption of the 2004 town budget. I am curious as to how two additional budgets were prepared after my departure (2005 and 2006) for which it appears no questions arose regarding the receipt of a significant amount of additional funds from WestHELP in each of those years.
I am sure that the town's auditors reviewed the contract as well as the documents pertaining to these transactions when they performed their audit of the town's financial statements. The auditors should have been consulted by the Town Board to explain why they had no major concern over how the receipt of this sizeable amount of money was recorded on the town's accounting records.
When funds are received by the town, the procedure I established several years ago was to create an easily followed audit trail of funds received. The current town comptroller should be able to produce the documents pertaining to the Aug. 12, 2003 receipt for the town board's review indicating when the funds were received and how they were credited.
I would hope that this issue pertaining to my reputation as a dedicated public servant, who always operated with the highest level of honesty and integrity during my nearly 20 years of employment with the town, will be resolved without additional litigation.
The writer is a former Greenburgh town comptroller.