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Tamagna's Audit a Waste of Taxpayer Money
To the Editor:
Legislator Vincent Tamagna wants to spend $60,000 on a "forensic audit" to figure out what is wrong with the county finances. If he can't understand what's wrong now, spending another $60,000 isn't going to help him figure it out.
A cost-free tally of Mr. Tamagna's budget votes for the last nine years tells us all we need to know: that year after year, Mr. Tamagna voted to authorize spending County surplus money - totaling over $70 million - in order to balance the budget. We don't need an audit to tell us that Mr. Tamagna used the County surplus to buy 0% property tax increases - and defended his actions in the face of mounting concerns that his "buy now, pay later" style would lead to double-digit tax increases in the future. That future is now. And the taxpayers are stuck with the bill.
The County fiscal crisis is not a mystery. We don't need to waste another $60,000 of taxpayers' money to figure out what happened. And laying all the blame at the feet of County Executive Bondi is inaccurate. These surplus-bought budgets were passed by the Legislature and supported by Mr. Tamagna. It's just that now Mr. Tamagna doesn't want to take any responsibility for his actions.
Maia Guest Cold Spring
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