A Report on the Town’s Continuing Financial Mess
No.6 in the Series, from an Outraged Milan Resident
May 2009
So there I sat, on May 11th, at the last monthly Town Board meeting . . . again. Listening, for hours, to the same drivel . . . again. Hearing, from Republican Supervisor Barrett, the same lame excuses for creating the financial mess that has become Milan . . . again. (“QuickBooks . . . blah, blah, blah.” “The bookkeeper . . . blah, blah, blah.” “The past bookkeeper(s) . . . blah, blah, blah.” “The past administration . . . blah, blah, blah.” “I spoke with the state, and they say it’s OK to be this late with last year’s AUD report . . . blah, blah, blah.”)
All I know is the following: My calendar says May 2009, and our Supervisor has yet to reconcile the books for 2008! And at this point, Councilpersons May and Williams have not only contacted the New York State Comptroller’s Office requesting their assistance, they are now also declining to sign vouchers for payment. How could anyone sign vouchers when no one knows how much money is in the checkbook?! And how can this Board assume they will be able to secure a bond for upcoming highway and bridge work with the finances so screwed up?!
So I then ask the following: Why is it that only Democratic Councilpersons May and Williams are doing something about this?! Where are Republican Councilpersons Egan and Byrne? Why are these Republicans not as concerned, as frustrated—dare I say, as outraged—as their Democratic counterparts about Milan’s fiscal mess? Do they not realize this is their responsibility as well? Do they not realize that, while the Supervisor may shoulder the role of CFO, their main duty as Town Board members is to share in the financial management of the Town? And even if they (mistakenly) think they get a free get-out-of-jail card on this one, doesn’t conscience kick in at some point?
It would seem not. Rather, it would seem that playing politics is more their guiding force. And so, while Egan and Byrne continue to genuflect to their paternalistic authority figures in the Republican back room and keep silent on this issue, Milan continues to spiral.
Barrett has already implied that he will not be running for office again. The presumption, then, is that Egan, as Deputy Supervisor, is the Republican Party’s likely heir apparent for candidacy in the next election. But even if Egan doesn’t choose to run for Supervisor, she still has two more years in her seat as Councilperson. So why do we hear only grandstanding and pseudo-lawyering on other matters from her but nothing about addressing this gargantuan problem? And Byrne also has two more years in his seat on the Board. So why does he seem content to coast along, concentrating only on his “community-minded” pet projects, virtually ignoring the biggest issue this town faces?
Regardless of which Democrats run for office in the next election, Egan and Byrne will inherit this mess along with them. So knowing they’re heading for a genuine crisis post-Barrett, why are they doing nothing to help now?
Evelyn Bartin |
