Nassau comptroller asks ethics board to review Hempstead IDA

Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman asked the county Board of Ethics on Tuesday to review whether an Aug. 15 news release from the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency improperly disclosed “confidential information” about an ongoing audit.

The release in question said that a July 25 draft audit by the county comptroller had identified millions of dollars in outstanding “payments   in lieu of taxes” — or PILOTs — that were collected by the IDA and owed to the county. The money was withheld by the Hempstead Town comptroller, the release said.

“The Town of Hempstead IDA in an apparent effort to shift blame ahead of the release of our final set of audit findings exhibited extreme disregard for the integrity of our audit process,” Schnirman said in a written statement Tuesday.

“Our office has serious concerns this information was released in an attempt to influence either our team of independent auditors or other entities involved in the investigation,” he said.

IDA executive director and CEO Fred Parola disputed the implication that the agency’s news release may have been unethical.

“There's no violation. My office did not share any part of the audit with anybody,” he said Tuesday.

Parola called the suggestion that the IDA release was meant to influence auditors “pretty ludicrous.”

Steve Leventhal, counsel to the Board of Ethics, said Tuesday the board is considering the comptroller’s request but that he could not comment on it further.

PILOTs are property tax abatements that the IDA offers to local businesses to promote economic development. The IDA collects the payments and transfers them to the town comptroller,  who sends them to the county and other taxing jurisdictions.

The county received the outstanding sum of $7,855,926.60 from the town Friday, according to a news release from Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.

Hempstead Town spokesmen said last week the town withheld the money over “financial issues” and litigation between the town and county that have been resolved. The town declined to name those issues.

The county comptroller under the previous administration initiated the audit in 2016, according to Schnirman’s news release. Deputy Comptroller Jeffrey R. Schoen said Tuesday the audit is reviewing the county Department of Assessment’s handling of PILOT revenue from the Hempstead, Glen Cove, and Nassau County IDAs.