The state Court of Appeals earlier this week refused to hear a Town of North Hempstead appeal of a court decision that the county comptroller’s office has the right to audit a town special district.
The decision removed the final obstacle of a county audit of the Clinton G. Martin Park District that is already underway.
“This is moot anyway since we’ve long since had the audit done. The issue was just as a point of information,” said Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman. “The matter is resolved as far as we’re concerned, so we’ve moved on.”
But Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos said the state Court of Appeals’ decision to not review the case is an important legal landmark.
“This is a precedent and it’s a landmark ruling that will affect all counties throughout the state. It’s a good ruling for government transparency,” Maragos said.
“It’s no surprise to us,” Maragos added. “We always maintained and believed strongly that we had authority to audit special districts. Successive courts have ruled that we have the right to audit districts.”
Kaiman, who earlier this year announced he would not run for re-election and was subsequently appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to oversee ongoing Hurricane Sandy cleanup efforts on Long Island, said he is concerned about a possible precedent in the case but the town has no further appeals in the process.
The ruling ends a two-year legal struggle between Kaiman and Maragos in which the town had contended only the state comptroller’s office could audit the town or its special districts.
Town residents, including Lakeville Estates Civic Association leader Marianna Wohlgemuth, had alleged that park district funds had been misappropriated in a running dispute over whether the town is current with payments due on a building it leases at Clinton G. Martin Park in North New Hyde Park.
The allegations prompted Maragos to attempt to audit the park district in 2011 and a war of words and legal challenges between Kaiman and Maragos.
Kaiman had accused Maragos of conducting a “political show.”
And last March, when Kaiman had town financial records delivered to the county comptroller’s office, Maragos termed the moved “a stunt.”
In May, when the state Court of Appeals denied an automatic appeal request after two lower courts had ruled against the town, Kaiman agreed to permit the county audit to proceed.
Maragos said the auditors are at the midway point in their work and offered no time frame for completion of the audit.