The administration of Chris St. Lawrence, Town of Ramapo supervisor, continues to blame its woes on Finance Department administrator Melissa Reimer. An unfavorable financial review from the NY Comptrollerโs Office, ranking Ramapo as the second most financially stressed town in New York State, came out Tuesday and the town immediately said itโs based on โincomplete dataโ that Supervisor of Fiscal Services Reimer โimproperlyโ provided the state. The town complains that Reimerโs information, allegedly provided to state officials without town board review, did not include $3.5 million in anticipated revenue.
Sources say Reimer has been very helpful with the FBIโs recent investigation into the St. Lawrence administration and she apparently has been on the outs with the St. Lawrence in recent years. A source close to the situation said that Reimer resisted St. Lawrenceโs funding and bookkeeping methods for the Pomona ballpark and this led to tension between herself and St. Lawrence.
In December 2012, Reimer officially got into hot water with the town, and has been the subject of recent disciplinary hearings over supposed improprieties in handling of overtime paperwork of a police officer she had a โpersonal relationshipโ with. The town described the married police officer as Reimerโs โparamourโ in a press release Tuesday, and stated that Reimer tried to fudge his vacation records to his advantage. Reimerโs version of events is that she merely was attempting to correct an inaccurate piece of paperwork, something sheโd done for many cops in the past when they needed a correction.
The Town of Ramapoโs press release stated that โOn Monday afternoon, June 17, 2013, the supervisor received a telephone call from the Office of the New York State Comptroller indicating that the Town of Ramapo was to be included on a list to be released the following day of municipalities currently in significant fiscal distress. When asked what formed the basis of this determination, he was advised that it resulted from a report called an โAnnual Update Documentโ or โAUDโ submitted by a town Finance Department employee [whom the RC Times knows to be Reimer] in May suggesting certain fund deficits.โ
Ramapo claims that since the AUD was submitted without town board review, it should not be considered valid.
Ramapo town claims, โThe report is based on incomplete, unaudited and misleading information provided by a now suspended Finance Department employee facing disciplinary charges for attempting to falsify town records of her paramour. In an apparent attempt to embarrass the town, she failed to disclose to the comptroller over $3.5 million in anticipated revenue. Her conduct was discovered too late to correct the Comptrollerโs report.โ
St. Lawrenceโs administration further stated that they do not expect the report from the Comptrollerโs Office to cause a negative effect on their A1 Moodyโs rating, because they anticipate that an independent auditor will clear the matter in the townโs favor.
See Town of Ramapo poor fiscal review here: Comptrollerโs review
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