By: Meyer Wolfsheim

A stunning new financial audit has revealed that a Westchester County town long led by a veteran Democratic supervisor failed to properly manage millions of dollars in tax revenue — raising fresh concerns about fiscal oversight and accountability in local government, the New York Post reported.

According to the NY Post, the town of Greenburgh, which has been run for 35 years by Democrat Paul Feiner, was found to have left huge sums in tax money uncollected and misallocated, according to a sweeping review by accounting firm EFPR Group.

The audit, which examined the town’s finances from 2020 through 2023, found nearly $29.4 million in unpaid property taxes, including some bills dating back to the 1960s — a revelation that stunned even some of Greenburgh’s own officials, the Post reported.

The Post also noted that the town failed to collect more than $2.6 million in parking fines, and water bills totaling about $3.1 million remained overdue by at least 60 days. The audit flagged numerous other problems, including waived penalties that were never reinstated after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.

Among the most striking findings was the mishandling of funds earmarked for a new courthouse and police station. While $39.5 million was set aside for the justice complex, the audit found that only $7.4 million was actually spent on the project because the money was folded into the town’s general budget rather than kept in a dedicated account. That has left the long-planned facility still in the design stage, the Post reported.

“In many respects, the town finances were extremely mismanaged at the expense of taxpayers,” Francis Sheehan, a member of the all-Democrat Greenburgh Town Board that commissioned the audit, told reporters, according to the NY Post. “I find it unconscionable that town taxpayers are now going to be asked to pay for a courthouse that they’ve already paid for.”

The audit document also cited outdated policies and sloppy administrative practices, such as former town employees who still appear on payroll systems, despite having left their jobs. While there was no indication that ex-employees were still receiving paychecks, their continued access to financial systems was cited as a glaring example of poor record keeping.

The findings have become fodder for political debate just as Feiner faces a tough re-election battle.