Making the Village accountable and affordable

Dear Editor,

This is an open letter to the trustees and taxpayers of the Village of Owego.

In April you voted to support my platform of making the Village of Owego financially accountable. The Village of Owego Audits had been delinquent for several years prior to my becoming Mayor. It has been my first order of business to get the records in order and current.

To date, the audits have been completed through the year ending July of 2014. The records for the year ending July 2015 have just recently been submitted by the independent accountant to the Auditor. In the opinion of the independent accountant hired to assist this process, the same issues will be present in the 2015 audit and 2016 audit as well.

Notations in the auditors’ reports for the prior two years have indicated that there is no one currently employed that is capable of preparing the books and records for the Village of Owego. As this will be the third year in a row, the comment will be made. I am sure the management letter issued to the Village will strongly suggest the Trustees MUST take additional steps in order to address the continuing situation.

It is imperative that the books and records be accurate and brought current. If the books and records are not accurate, then the computerized reports submitted to the Trustees for revenues and expenditures are also inaccurate. Transfers are not properly recorded, and the assets of the Village are not adequately secure.

In addition, the operational expenses of the Village of Owego far exceed the operational revenue. This term represents the regular ongoing revenue coming in to support the regular operating expenses of the Village. Operational revenue does not include special provisions for FEMA, Demolitions, Flood Recovery, Special Projects, CDBG, and other items not considered continuing ongoing expenses.

Lastly, it needs to be understood that the taxable property values subject to the tax levy does not include tax-exempt organizations. The tax burden from the annual real property tax levy falls on a small number of residences and businesses located in the Village. A conservative estimate of the taxable values of exempt organizations is in excess of 80 percent of the total taxable value, meaning that less than 20 percent of the property owners pay 100 percent of the tax burden.

Again, my purpose is to make the Village accountable and affordable. I have taken several steps to address the due diligence that was not a part of the prior administration. I hope to have your continued support in this effort.

Sincerely,

Steve May

Village of Owego Mayor