Nassau's right to audit town parks upheld
Charles J. Fuschillo Park in Carle Place is operated by the Town of North Hempstead. (Jan. 30, 2012) Credit: Nicole Bartoline
The Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision that allows the Nassau County comptroller to audit town parks.
Specifically, the Town of North Hempstead had challenged the authority of the county comptroller to audit the Clinton G. Martin Park District, calling it “unconstitutional.”
On June 17, 2011, Acting Nassau State Supreme Court Justice Denise Sher dismissed the challenge, and the town appealed.
The appellate court said: “(T)he County Comptroller may properly audit the subject park district pursuant to the authority granted to county comptrollers by the New York State Legislature ... which Nassau County later adopted.”
Collin Nash, a spokesman for North Hempstead, said the town “will review the decision and proceed accordingly.”
County Comptroller George Maragos said the “courts have spoken and affirmed the authority of the Comptroller to audit this Park District. ... [There] is no reason for the Town of North Hempstead to continue to conceal its records.”
