A Study of the Inept, Irresponsible and Unethical Management of the Town’s Finances in the Hands of Supervisor Barrett,
Our Purported Chief Financial Officer
January 2009
Here’s a chronological recap of events regarding the town’s financial picture, starting when Republican Dick Barrett took office as Town Supervisor of Milan nearly thirteen months ago:
January, 2008: Lots of blustering by new Supervisor Barrett on how the town’s finances have been “mishandled” by “the previous [Democratic/Talmage] administration.” Since the main responsibility of a town supervisor is that of Chief Financial Officer, this allegation is not to be taken lightly.
February–September, 2008: While the blustering and persistent veiled accusations against the previous administration’s financial management of the town continue, Supervisor Barrett has uncovered nothing materially wrong. However, throughout this first nine-month period of his own administration, Barrett posts Milan’s financial statements only once (in June) on the town’s official website. He does this not in the interest of public information, but instead to serve his own political agenda and provide the launch point for his now infamous—and proven to be ludicrous!—“the sky is falling” mailing. (You can see that memo here. Note the last paragraph, where the Barrett says, “Later this summer we intend to have an informational meeting to explain the financial situation in more detail.” This meeting never happens.)
In fact, over these months what becomes obvious is Barrett’s inability to manage the town’s finances. He is repeatedly taken to task by Democratic board members Ross Williams and Diane May about both the incompleteness and incorrectness of his statements. The two Democrats also consistently take issue with the fact that the financial statements are only ever issued just moments before each board meeting, thereby giving board members virtually no time to review them in advance. On a number of occasions Williams and May also point out the inappropriate ways Barrett is unilaterally and cavalierly “transferring” and/or spending funds. (This is reaffirmed by Dr. Jack Campisi, former town supervisor and self-appointed watchdog over the town’s books, who also stands up month after month at board meetings revealing how Barrett is mismanaging the town’s finances. Since the supervisor is Dr. Campisi’s hand-picked protégé, this embarrassingly incompetent behavior must really unhinge him as Barrett is obviously proving to be the most inept of pupils.)
Somewhere in this time frame, the bookkeeper quits. Barrett hires a second bookkeeper, D’Achille & Associates. Like her predecessor, this new bookkeeper is hand-picked by the Republican back room.
By September the financial mess continues, but the board has no other choice but to begin 2009 budget planning.
October–December, 2008: Now ten months, more or less, into his tenure, and Barrett continues to blame the past administration for his financial mess. However, he now also blames the new bookkeeper (i.e., the one he just hired a few months ago) and the software (i.e., QuickBooks, perhaps the most widely used bookkeeping program in the country).
The second town bookkeeper quits. Like the first, the second bookkeeper cites a “hostile work environment” as the reason. (See the Register-Herald report here)
The weeks pass and Supervisor Barrett hires yet another bookkeeper, Teresa DeFrancesca, also vetted by the GOP back room. This bookkeeper is now the third in under a year and has no municipal accounting experience in her background. After ten-plus months, Barrett admits publicly that he has been unable to learn the software (QuickBooks, for goodness sake!). Barrett also admits publicly that his newly hired bookkeeper is also unfamiliar with the program (I repeat, QuickBooks, for goodness sake!).
Messy books notwithstanding, budget planning for 2009 proceeds in earnest, as it must this time of year. It is critical to note here that a town board particularly relies on its supervisor’s accurate financial statements (and hopefully, his or her financial savviness) during this period to: 1) plan the upcoming year’s budget; 2) anticipate closing the books for the current year; and 3) anticipate paying January’s bills when cash flow is at its leanest. In other words, there’s simply no room for slippage or incoherence this late in the year. However, in Barrett’s hands, Milan’s finances are clearly behind the curve–one might say, even behind the eight-ball–at this critical juncture.
In testament, the town’s residents receive a mailing from Democratic board member Ross Williams during the course of the 2009 budget planning process. Williams’s letter (you can see it here: [insert Word doc Final Letter re taxes]) alerts everyone that Barrett and his Republican majority cohorts on the board, Bobbie Egan and David Byrne–in their financial ineptness–are about to raise property taxes by 40%!!! (Actually, the grapevine reports that Barrett-Egan-Byrne initially wanted to raise our taxes by 60%, but have subsequently figured otherwise. By this logic, I suppose these three Republicans imagine we’ll be OK with 40%.) Even worse, they are planning to do so without any notice to the community beyond the bare minimum required by law. And even worse yet, this proposed budget is not posted on the town’s website, effectively keeping us in the dark about the 40% increase. The long and the short of it is, if Williams hadn’t sent his warning note and if nearly a hundred outraged Milan residents hadn’t subsequently turned up at a meeting protesting this planned budget, we would be staring at a huge tax hike put into place in near secrecy by our elected Republican “representation.” Please correct me if I’m wrong, but once upon a time didn’t we have a big tea party because of stuff like this?!
Democrats Williams and May, acknowledging the public’s outcry, refuse to accept the 40% increase and so (still without benefit of correct or complete books from Barrett or, for that matter, any understanding on his part of how to coordinate a budget) burn the midnight oil to develop a realistic financial plan for Milan for 2009. Appreciating the difficult economic times, they strive for a budget that will allow the town to go forward into the new year responsibly and reasonably . . . in other words, they end up doing Barrett’s job for him. Because of their diligence, the resulting tax increase in the upcoming year will be only about 15%.
More weeks pass and promises of reconciling 2008’s books continue to be proffered by Supervisor Barrett late into the year. These promises, however, prove to be empty. And by this time—that is, the time the new budget must be finalized by law—the town is forced to enter the new year with seemingly as many financial questions as it has answers. Lots of smokescreen gushes from Barrett at town board and other meetings, claiming continued problems with the software (QUICKBOOKS!!!). As a result of Barrett’s and the newest bookkeeper’s inability to master the program, Barrett decides to transfer the town’s books to a new software system (Fund EZ) that neither of them is familiar with either… and at a cost of $2285 to the town’s taxpayers!
At this same juncture, along with Milan’s overall financial mess, the particular mess of the escrow accounts (a part of the town’s overall bookkeeping) also surfaces. Perhaps because of the steady stream of bookkeepers, or perhaps because our supervisor seems incapable of learning any software system, or perhaps because of both, it seems Barrett has left the escrow accounts to languish in disarray. The result is that the town—using our taxpayer dollars!—has been footing the bill for services that should have been paid by the applicants from these accounts. Barrett is also questioned on the interest that should be accruing in the escrow accounts but seems to be missing from the statements. He tries to push off this particular mess to the planning and zoning clerk. This is, of course, not appropriate: escrow accounts are (and always have been) the responsibility of the supervisor and the town bookkeeper.
January, 2009: The new year has begun, and Barrett’s 2008 books for the town (including, but certainly not limited to, his accounting of the escrow accounts) are still not reconciled. This becomes obvious very early in the monthly board meeting held on January 12th, as Democrats Williams and May raise financial issue after issue and struggle to make sense of the impossible situation Barrett has created. Barrett continues to place the blame on the software, saying he and the bookkeeper are now “getting up to speed on the new software.” But now Barrett also blames Highway Superintendent Glenn Butler, saying there is a “discrepancy” between his books and Butler’s. (As an aside I’d like to say that I’m not a betting person, but if I were, I’d put my money on Butler!)
As the heat in the room goes up, Dr. Campisi, head down and moving faster than a roach when the lights come on, scurries quickly and silently out the door. Rumor has it that the Republicans have told him to “shut up” about the town’s finances and stop questioning Barrett in public forums on his mishandling of town funds. (This is particularly ironic, as it was Campisi who took every opportunity during the previous Talmage/Democratic administration to point out that thirty-two cents here and a buck-and-a-half there were posted in the wrong columns. Where’s this self-same watchdog when real financial issues are at hand?! Obviously, he’s choosing to play politics and obey the gag order laid on him by Republican higher-ups. And anyway, just judging from all the recent body language, Campisi has already abandoned the beyond-hope financial disaster that Barrett has turned out to be, and is now well invested in “advising” his newest protégé and the presumed GOP candidate for supervisor in the next election, Bobbie Egan.)
With Campisi now long gone from the room, Barrett goes on to inform the board that he is intending to spend money on items not budgeted for 2009. One such item is using one day per week (of three) of the new bookkeeper’s services to “get her up to speed on the new [Fund EZ] software.” May points out that this one day—i.e., this extra third day Barrett lobbied for during budget planning—was supposed to be used for processing payroll in-house vs. the town’s continuing to use an outsource agency. May continues to tell Barrett that if, indeed, this third day is now being diverted to “learning software” and the outsource agency is therefore continuing to process payroll, the infraction is compounded: not only is there no longer any budget allotment for an outsource service, but taxpayers will also effectively be double-billed if Barrett pursues this course. When asked for an explanation, Barrett claims, “Oh, we’ll find the money somewhere.”
Barrett also proposes another expenditure not included in the 2009 budget: some $2,500 to hire a webmaster to take over the town’s woefully neglected website. The webmaster Barrett wishes to hire just happens to be a GOP committee chair in Red Hook, as well as Republican State Assemblyman Mark Molinaro’s communications assistant. Williams and May point out to Barrett that not only is he proposing to spend funds not budgeted, he’s doing so when free and capable volunteers have, over and over again, raised their hands offering to keep the website updated. (This proposal, fortunately, gets dropped.)
Barrett says he is also intending to spend (indeed, has already spent!) funds from a hoped-for grant from State Senator Vincent Leibell . . . funds the town may well not get this year due to state budget constraints.
Following this, Barrett and his fellow Republicans then try to make a case for keeping Morris Associates as the town’s planners, even though they’re costing Milan more than double compared to the prior planners, Greenplan Inc. Williams and May point out that, in fact, not only has Morris Associates not added value for those extra bucks, they’ve been (arguably) of less service to the town.
As the meeting continues and Williams and May try to discuss this and other financial items with Barrett, Bobbie Egan attempts to cut them off mid-sentence. Usually the most composed and refined of creatures but now clearly at the end of his tether, Williams takes to uncharacteristic shouting and pounding on the table, insisting on legitimate and fiscally responsible behavior from Barrett and a final accounting of 2008 within the upcoming two weeks. May, usually calm and collected but also at the end of her tether, adds angrily that if the books are not balanced properly within these upcoming two weeks and if Barrett does not cease and desist from his inappropriate (and perhaps illegal) financial activities, she will ask the State Comptroller to intercede on the town’s behalf. Williams and May additionally refuse to sign any vouchers for bill payments—save those of Glenn Butler, so the town can have salt for snow—until the books are reconciled.
May and Williams then manage (thank goodness!) to get a resolution passed requiring Supervisor Barrett to keep all the past and current QuickBooks records intact while he continues to attempt transferring the accounting to the Fund EZ software.
What a mess!
And then, wham! Just as the meeting is adjourning at nearly midnight, Bobbie Egan, in a pre-planned maneuver (I say pre-planned, because Egan is reading from what appears to be a printed page), makes a motion asking the board to curtail discussion of these or other town board issues at future monthly meetings. The motion is carried by the Barrett-Egan-Byrne Republican majority, 3 to 2.
* * *
OK, so now I’m beyond outraged! Not only has Barrett made a complete mess of the town’s finances, now future discussion of the topic (or any topic!) at a town board meeting is being squelched by the Republican majority, Barrett-Egan-Byrne! Has none of these guys ever read the Constitution?! Honestly, I’m thinking of pulling every bit of tea from my pantry and dumping it on the front lawn of Milan’s town hall.
Of Barrett, then, I can only ask:
Dick, do you understand that your main responsibility as supervisor of the town is CFO? Why’d you take the job if you clearly can’t financially manage your way out of a paper bag???!!!
And of my fellow Milan residents, I must ask:
Do you fully appreciate that as the town’s finances go to hell in the proverbial hand basket under Supervisor Barrett’s management, your property values go along with them?
* * *
The next town board meeting is Monday, February 9th at 7:30pm.
Everyone, start showing up and exercising your voice! Whether Barrett-Egan-Byrne like it or not, these are our property values . . . and this is a democracy . . . and we all have a say! |
