State Comptroller Alan Hevesi last week released an audit of the Village of Farmingdale, particularly of the practices of former administrators in the village. According to the comptroller, officials enjoyed unnecessary perks and failed to monitor excessive credit card usage, as well as spending on legal matters.

The audit reported that seven officials incurred approximately $60,000 in credit card charges, which included at least $17,000 in personal expenses that were later repaid. The report stated that they failed to submit receipts or explanations for much of the remaining $43,000 charged.

Auditors and investigators also said that officials inappropriately charged thousands of dollars for food and beverages on village credit cards while attending conferences when meals were included in the registration fee. According to the audit, in one instance, the then-mayor, Joseph Trudden and the village attorney, Patrick Mielo, charged $1,350 for travel related expenses on May 30 through June 1, 2001, which was attributed to their attendance at the New York Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials meeting. However, the conference did not take place until the second week of June.

The audit also criticized the village for paying for 15 cell phones for village officials, noting that while Farmingdale spent $23,800 for off-premise phones, other similar local villages spent an average of $4,300. The audit further stated that the village owned several vehicles, four of which were used exclusively by specific individuals. Auditors could not determine to what extent these vehicles were used for official businesses as the village had no policy regarding the use of these vehicles.

In addition, the audit stated that Farmingdale paid approximately $150,000 more for legal fees annually than other similar-sized villages on Long Island. Auditors found that the village's legal costs increased significantly in recent years, totaling $215,000 in 2002-2003. Prior to that, the village's legal costs were generally comparable to other Long Island villages. Comptroller's staff attributed the higher costs to a retainer agreement that failed to define the services covered by the fee, allowing the attorney to bill an additional $250 per hour for "special projects." The audit also claimed that the village made no attempt to obtain competitive quotes for the additional legal work. Auditors and investigators stated that when they interviewed the village attorney, who held the position prior to Mielo, they learned that many of the so-called projects that the current village attorney billed additional for were previously covered as part of the standard retainer.

The audit results stated that village officials have not been "prudent stewards" of village funds. It states that "village assets such as credit cards, phones and vehicles were not used appropriately or efficiently in many cases because of a lack of adequate controls over the assets." It further notes that there are no written policies or procedures regarding the use of credit cards, phones and vehicles that have been assigned to village officials and employees.

Auditors recommended that the board of trustees should develop written policies regarding the use of village-owned assets such as credit cards, cell phones and vehicles. They also recommended that the agreement between the village and village attorney should clearly specify services covered by the annual retainer fee and should define what constitutes a "special contract" and, among other suggestions, the board should seek competition for legal services not covered in the annual retainer by soliciting requests for proposals prior to awarding legal services contracts for special contracts.

Current Mayor George Graf, in an official response to the state comptroller's office, stated that he and the board will continue to review the audit for the purpose of preparing a corrective action plan, which he said will be filed with Hevesi's office within 90 days.

"Be assured that the village's newly elected administration will work diligently to enact any changes to prevent the problems that occurred during the prior mayor and board tenure," Graf said in his letter. The mayor further stated that he and the board look forward to implementing various constructive improvements to manage the village's finances.

Joseph Trudden, former Farmingdale mayor under whose reign the audit was conducted, said he was not permitted to respond to the comptroller's report because he is no longer an elected official. Trudden did submit a letter to the editor at the Observer, (see page 16).