To the residents of the town of Palatine —Taxes, Taxes, Taxes.
In November 2017 Bill MacLauchlin was voted in as the town of Palatine supervisor.
A week later, then-Supervisor Sara Niccoli, along with councilman Chris Novak and Hank Vanderburgh, voted to pass a budget reducing it by 35 percent for the following year — 2018. This put the town in the arrears of $450,000.
Upon taking office in January 2018, Bill MacLauchlin was faced with raising the taxes back to where they were in 2017 or pull the rest of the town’s fund balance money. This money was in a bank located south of Albany of which only Sara Niccoli could sign for. It took Bill MacLauchlin and the town attorney months to get the money moved into an account that could gain interest.
At the time the fund balance was around $900,000 making $232 per year. It is now for half the year and at half the principal amount.
During 2016 through 2017 Comptroller DiNapoli’s office conducted an audit on the town. They requested a reasonable or workable budget plan going forward for 2018. Bill MacLauchlin replied with a completed fiscal plan of which they were satisfied.
This is only one of the many problems that Bill MacLauchlin had to take care of since taking his position.
SANDRA MACCULLOUGH
Palatine
