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January 16. 2013 10:46PM
LONDONDERRY - Two decades worth of impact fees are now being examined by independent auditor Melanson Heath and Company.
Last month, a Rockingham Country Superior Court judge ordered the town to hire an independent auditor. During Monday night's town council meeting, acting Town Manager William Hart said the hire was made official early last week, and Melanson Heath began working on the extensive audit this past Thursday.
Hart said he and other town officials considered various area firms for the job, but ultimately decided to work with Melanson Heath because the firm is already somewhat familiar with the town, not to mention the company's forensic auditing department is operated separately from the regular auditing department.
"They've done a lot of forensic accountant audits in the past," Hart added. "In my opinion, they seem to give the best value for this situation the town faces."
Hart said the town decided to act quickly on the court's request in an effort to increase transparency.
"Unlike many towns, governments, private agencies or people who choose to deal with the embarrassing situations they confront behind closed doors, this town council in a rare display of political courage said they wanted to do this out front," he said. "We decided we would begin the audit publicly. The judge no doubt is going to make a number of decisions going forward and its important to act as fiduciaries for the town and try to put this to bed as quickly as we can."
As a condition of the court order, the independent auditor will conduct a full review of the town's fee collections and expenditures, going back to the inception of Londonderry's impact fee program in 1994.
Early last summer, Hart revealed that the town likely owes up to $1.3 million in combined impact fees to developers and property owners, believed to have stemmed from improper collection practices.
Like many other area towns, the town of Londonderry imposes impact fees to help defray costs for needed capital improvements, but recent investigations into the practice showed the town needs to refund impact fees collected for state highway improvements.
Once the audit is complete, the end result will most likely be made public, the town manager said.
"The fact is, we're not going to be able to put this to bed anytime soon as we've got a lot of work ahead of us," Hart said. "Will this change anything? Well, it has changed. We are changing for the better."
Resident John Curran asked what the audit might reveal.
"Is it possible that it could turn out we owe more on this?" he asked.
Hart said that was extremely unlikely.
Councilor Tom Freda said: "Really, having the audit is a method of confirming what the town has already done regarding its impact fee process. That's the primary goal of this audit."
aguilmet@newstote.com
Impact fee audit begins in Londonderry
Last month, a Rockingham Country Superior Court judge ordered the town to hire an independent auditor. During Monday night's town council meeting, acting Town Manager William Hart said the hire was made official early last week, and Melanson Heath began working on the extensive audit this past Thursday.
Hart said he and other town officials considered various area firms for the job, but ultimately decided to work with Melanson Heath because the firm is already somewhat familiar with the town, not to mention the company's forensic auditing department is operated separately from the regular auditing department.
"They've done a lot of forensic accountant audits in the past," Hart added. "In my opinion, they seem to give the best value for this situation the town faces."
Hart said the town decided to act quickly on the court's request in an effort to increase transparency.
"Unlike many towns, governments, private agencies or people who choose to deal with the embarrassing situations they confront behind closed doors, this town council in a rare display of political courage said they wanted to do this out front," he said. "We decided we would begin the audit publicly. The judge no doubt is going to make a number of decisions going forward and its important to act as fiduciaries for the town and try to put this to bed as quickly as we can."
As a condition of the court order, the independent auditor will conduct a full review of the town's fee collections and expenditures, going back to the inception of Londonderry's impact fee program in 1994.
Early last summer, Hart revealed that the town likely owes up to $1.3 million in combined impact fees to developers and property owners, believed to have stemmed from improper collection practices.
Like many other area towns, the town of Londonderry imposes impact fees to help defray costs for needed capital improvements, but recent investigations into the practice showed the town needs to refund impact fees collected for state highway improvements.
Once the audit is complete, the end result will most likely be made public, the town manager said.
"The fact is, we're not going to be able to put this to bed anytime soon as we've got a lot of work ahead of us," Hart said. "Will this change anything? Well, it has changed. We are changing for the better."
Resident John Curran asked what the audit might reveal.
"Is it possible that it could turn out we owe more on this?" he asked.
Hart said that was extremely unlikely.
Councilor Tom Freda said: "Really, having the audit is a method of confirming what the town has already done regarding its impact fee process. That's the primary goal of this audit."
aguilmet@newstote.com
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