Some questionable accounting practiced in Princetown
Should information regarding how tax dollars are spent be important to the residents who actually pay taxes? In my opinion, the town of Princetown has some rather strange ways to balance its books. According to the supervisor’s Operating Statement released for the period ending June 30, 2010, the town had budgeted $20,000 for attorney fees and had spent $16,365.49, listing a balance of $3,634.51 for the remainder of the year. In the report at the end of the year it states that the town actually spent $38,546.28 on legal fees in 2010. The report also changed its “budgeted” amount from $20,000 to $36,255.00, claiming it was 6.3 percent over budget. Perhaps it is modern math that supervisor, Melanie Hasbrouck Whiteley, is using that confuses me, but in my mind, if you budget $20,000 at the start of the year and you spend $38,546.28, it isn’t an increase of 6.3 percent, but nearly a 95 percent increase. The supervisor has now budgeted $40,000 for attorney fees in her 2011 budget. When I asked her at a board meeting why she doubled the attorney fees, she stated that they had spent nearly $40,000 in 2010. I then asked if there was any pending litigation against the town and she replied no! If there is no pending litigation, why the outlandish increase of tax dollars? Taxpayers should ask, “why did the town spend $18,546.28 over budget for attorney fees in 2010?” Another question taxpayers should ask is, “why did the supervisor budget $25,000 in a contingency account for 2011?” In her 2010 end-of-year report, she listed a negative amount of $385.25. Why would she budget $25,000 this year when the previous year showed no expense? In her autumn 2010 “PrincetowNews” column, she states: “As a result of being conservative on our spending we are pleased with a budget that will result in no town tax again for 2011.” With this kind of accounting, I think she should be “pleased” with a budget that will result in no town tax again for 2011. Maybe she should consider refunding some tax dollars that are not needed so the residents who pay the taxes will also be “pleased!”
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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