|
|
|
|
Click to visit the
Official Town Site
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 06, 2012
To the Editor:
It is the job of the NYS Comptroller to determine if the acts of public government were in the best interest of the taxpayers. I spent some time going over the LDC/Builder Contract and comparing it to the LDC Check Register. While many of the payments seem legitimate, I feel that the LDC used taxpayer monies to pay for things that should have been paid for by the Builder, and also made large payments to cover the site work, which was out of the scope of the contract. I would like to ask the taxpayers to stop and think – If the Village DPW was responsible for site work, shouldn’t the DPW head have factored these amounts into the 2005 DPW budget, and found ways to lessen the cost to the taxpayers? I do not understand how our current Board majority can find $189,000 to transfer for Stage 1 renovations, but the 2005 Board could not have determined how to cover the cost of the site work without having to raise taxes, or add it into the Bond.
Line Item 1 states that the construction agreement is for $722,000, and covers all work, except for the site work. Line Item 27 of the LDC/Builder contract indicates that a permanent Certificate of Occupancy must be obtained before Final Payment to the Builder was made. However, if you add up the payments from the LDC check register, the Builder was paid over $739,000 by April 2006. If you recall, the building was closed in Winter 2010 due to a lack of C of O.
Line Item 6 indicates the Builder pays for all labor, materials, equipment, tools, construction equipment and machinery, and other facilities and services necessary for execution and completion of work.
However, when looking at the check register I was able to add up the following amounts, paid for by the LDC, that I believe are for construction equipment and supplies: Handi-Lift $18,400, Grainer $11,789.91, TilCon $12,301.36, Newburgh Steel $3,134.54, LOWES $2,201.26, and Schmidt Wholesale $4,682.90 (Plumbing/HVAC). They also paid for the Locks/Locksmith separately at a total of $9,185 to LKM LTD and they paid $1,603.04 to Village Paint Supply. There are also separate payments for electrical supplies – Expanded Supply $2,492.95 and Crescent Electrical Supply $2,453.08. There were also a lot of miscellaneous, but smaller payments that I question – Yannones Auto, Zep MFG Co., Fred Lewis Computers, Farrel Oil Co, Albert Kemprele, News of Highlands, and several others.
The NYS Comptroller auditors are skilled in searching through documents for figures, such as I noted above. Perhaps the auditors questioned the $207,000 because they took time to read the documents, and did not feel that these payments were legitimate, or in the best interest of the taxpayers.
Melissa Vellone
Cornwall-on-Hudson
Comments:
|
Alan G. Hevesi (born January 31, 1940) is a Democratic politician who served as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as Comptroller of the City of New York from 1994 to 2001, and as State Comptroller for the State of New York from 2003 to 2006. Hevesi is originally from Queens, New York, and is of Jewish faith.[1][dead link]
Hevesi was first elected State Comptroller in 2002 and won re-election in 2006.[2] However, he resigned from office effective December 22, 2006, as part of a plea bargain with the Albany County Court, based on his personal use of state employees to care for his ailing wife, in lieu of a grand jury indictment. In February 2007 Hevesi was sentenced to a $5000 fine and permanently banned from holding elective office again; he received no jail time and no probation.[3] He later pled guilty to corruption charges surrounding a "pay to play" scheme regarding the New York State Pension Fund, and was sentenced to 1?4 years on April 15, 2011.[4]
posted by Vishwa Chaudhry on 03/07/12 at 5:07 PM
|
|
Link to LDC check register http://cornwall-on-hudson.com/dimages/PDF48.pdf
Notice the payments made without corresponding check numbers. Also notice that there are check numbers missing - The register skips from 1276 to 1279, yet certain checks that were voided were listed, so where are these?
Also, please notice there are many interest payments coming out of the Bond proceeds turned over to the LDC - the Village Bonded the money and gave it to the LDC, but the interest payments were coming out of the Bond PRINCIPLE - What does this say? The Village Bonded more than actually necessary so that the interest payments would come out of the principle. Is this fiscal responsibility? Would families increase the amount of their mortgage in order to pay back interest out of the principle?
Vote for fiscally responsible representatives, not those promising to fleece you politely.
posted by Melissa Vellone on 03/07/12 at 11:15 PM
|
|
The above comment is a sophistic and utterly cynical response to Ms. Vellone's diligent analysis of public record. I don't know who you are, Mr. Chaudhry, but the only function your rhetoric serves is to stifle the legitimate pursuit of truthful accountability.
posted by Rick Gioia on 03/07/12 at 11:20 PM
|
|
I would like to make a couple of corrections and an apology. The letter that I sent the editor was not the version I had marked as "final". The final version had the corrections, this version did not, so I would like to call it out in the comment section -
Handi-Lift was the LU/LA elevator, this is called out as being the responsibility of the "owner" not the builder, and the payment to Village Paint Supply, also the responsibility of the owner.
Again, I apologize for not sending the correct version. I would also like to say I spent several days going over that check register and the contract to fact check myself. The remainder of the numbers I quoted seem logical to question.
posted by Melissa Vellone on 03/08/12 at 2:51 AM
|
|
I sent this letter with no reply.
March 5, 2012
To Mayor Coyne
I am asking that you provide written documentation in the form of Bank statements verifying the validity of the document on our website entitled DPW Facility Worksheet. It is important that we as a board show and verify where the money that has been brought into question by the New York State Comptroller is. Showing documents to the public that the New York State Comptroller?s office received but did not take seriously falls short of our duties and obligations to the public. I expect you to provide copies of bank statements verifying the information provided to the public as an explanation of where their money went. Please provide this as soon as possible .
posted by Andrew Argenio on 03/08/12 at 8:32 AM
|
|
In addition to my last post, I want to add that I prefer not to get entwined in the politics of the village because it has always been he says, she says. However, I did (thoroughly) read the Comptrollers Report and subsequent response from our Mayor, as well as comments on this website, and the first thought that came to my mind was "these weren't the results we anticipated, so we insinuate incompetence and claim do-over!" (and will declare do-over until they get it "right")
posted by M Connell on 03/09/12 at 10:50 PM
|
Add a Comment:
Please signup or login to add a comment.
|
 |
|
|
|
