Islip board takes more active budgeting role

Five months after a state audit found long-standing accounting problems in the Town of Islip, the town board Tuesday voted to establish a public "budget work session" aimed at giving board members a more active role in overseeing the town's finances.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in August confirmed a $3.3 million deficit in Islip's capital projects fund and uncovered an unrelated cash shortage of $12,250 in the town clerk's office. He also found Islip had overtaxed village residents and overstated projected expenses by about $14 million a year, making its financial position appear worse than it was.

Republican and Democratic board members Tuesday put forth competing resolutions, proposing budget work sessions in October and September, respectively.

After a heated discussion, in which Democrats said the Republican resolution contained partisan language, board members voted along party lines, passing Democratic Supervisor Phil Nolan's proposal, 3-2.

The new work session will be held the first Wednesday after Labor Day. It will allow department heads to present their budget requests and answer questions from board members.

Noting DiNapoli had urged board members to take a more active role in budget oversight, Republican Councilman Steven Flotteron called Nolan's plan a "watered-down version" because it does not require a representative from each department to come before the board before the budget vote.

"We are responsible on this budget," he said.

Also at the meeting Tuesday, the town board approved a new plan to charge owners of blighted properties an annual fee until they clean up their properties.

The policy - which identifies blighted properties using a points system - takes effect Wednesday, the town attorney said.