By Andrew Coen
But Nat Swergold, the attorney for the sanitation district, calls the audit "politically motivated" for Weitzman, who faces re-election in November.
Weitzman said at a Sept. 8 press conference at his Mineola office that the lack of control in Sanitary District 1, which covers trash pickup for the Five Towns and tiny portions of Valley Stream and Lynbrook, generates ample opportunities for unscrupulous individuals to line their pockets with taxpayer money. Weitzman said that if he were grading District 1 he would give it an F, and rank it even lower if he could. "The only reason they get an F is because when I went to school that was the lowest grade you could get," he said.
Weitzman said that the audit of District 1, from March to late June, revealed excessive and unexplained payments to commissioners and top staff, lavish meals -- including a steak dinner for four that totaled nearly $700 -- and an inadequate, and for some employees nonexistent, timekeeping system. According to Weitzman, the district has a budget of more than $14 million a year and 129 full- and part-time employees, and provides service to 16,514 residential and commercial properties. The preliminary audit for the district covers the years 2003 and 2004.
"Town of Hempstead Sanitation District No. 1 is, to put it bluntly, totally out of control," said Weitzman.
District 1 has the highest cost per parcel in the county, at $873 per parcel and $318 per ton, which compares with just $248 per parcel and $116 per ton in the Port Washington Sanitary District, which is privately contracted and was also audited by the comptroller.
Weitzman also listed inadequate timekeeping, excessive and unexplained payments, nonexistent controls over cash receipts, and a lack of proper bookkeeping as other problems uncovered in the audit. The findings are being sent to state comptroller Alan Hevesi's office and the Nassau County district attorney's office for further review, according to Weitzman.
"This is strictly political," said Swergold in a phone interview, pointing out that the district has the lowest tax rate in the county and is the only one to provide rear-door pickup and house its own recycling plant. "Why isn't there a single word [in the audit] of the great service we provide?"
Weitzman faces re-election against the Town of Hempstead's receiver of taxes, Donald Clavin, while Nassau County Assessor Harvey Levinson, who approached the comptroller about conducting the audits to explore consolidating the special sanitary districts to save money, is running to un-seat Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray.
Swergold criticized Weitzman's assertion that there was "ample opportunity" for fraud in District 1, since none was discovered during the audit. "I dare the comptroller to find a single evidence of fraud, even a penny," said Swergold. "Every politician has the opportunity to steal, but does that mean that all politicians steal?"
Weitzman said that District 1 officials were uncooperative during the three-month examination, and after auditors were restricted access to documents and personnel, the audit was halted. Weitzman said he was able to make preliminary findings that "raise serious concerns about the district's administration and operations."
However, Swergold said that auditors spent 1,254 hours studying documents at district headquarters in North Lawrence, and that the managers were cooperative. "How could they spend 1,254 hours [at our headquarters] and say they were denied assess?" said Swergold, who added that auditors examined many records. "We were very cooperative."
The audit found extravagant spending on travel and meals, according to Weitzman, who said that over the two-year period examined, the district spent a total of $14,610 to send four district managers to a waste conference in New Orleans and three managers to a similar conference in Dallas. Weitzman said that at those conferences, managers treated themselves to high-priced meals, drinks and transportation, including a $676 dinner for four at Morton's Steakhouse in New Orleans, $536 in limousine charges and $710 in lounge and bar charges. District 1 had no written policy on travel or meals, according to the comptroller.
Swergold admitted that the dinners could have been cheaper, but that the travel expenses were being blown out of proportion, since there was no fraud involved.
The audit also discovered that the district allows contractors to dump waste, landscaping and construction debris at the district's transfer station in North Lawrence, but will accept cash for the service, which Weitzman said was troubling. According to Swergold, the district has the cash-only policy to make transactions easier. "You can't expect a little contractor who has one little dump truck to be carrying a checkbook," he said.
The audit also says that district officials denied auditors the chance to count the number of vehicles they use, but Swergold said that auditors were not allowed do an up-close count for safety and liability reasons.
Weitzman said in the report that the district's treasurer, Sal Evola, was lax in his part-time 20-hour-a-week job duty, since he holds three additional public-sector jobs while at the same time operating a private tax practice, with no records kept of his time spent working for the sanitary district. Evola's other public-sector jobs are as Cedarhurst village clerk, treasurer for the Island Park school district and an unknown role with the Inwood Fire District. According to Weitzman, a review of New York State pension records found that Evola reported to the state a total of 733 days worked in 2004.
Evola said that his number of days worked is misleading, since he is only allowed to count them toward one year in the pension records.
Swergold was also attacked in the audit for being listed as a full-time employee with benefits, and for getting paid for each meeting he attends to go along with the roughly $40,000 in attorney's fees he receives for being the district's counsel. Swergold said it is not unusual for attorneys of sanitary districts in the state to receive benefits. "I have an absolute right to everything they pay me, whether it's a straight check or a benefit," said Swergold. "They make it seem like belonging to the pension plan is some kind of sin."
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