Audit Criticizes Philipstown Budgeting

Report cites Garrison’s Landing spending

A state audit released this month said Philipstown should have included in its budget the $2.4 million it spent on the Garrison Landing Water District over six years, shrinking its general-fund balance from $1 million to $53,137. 

The state Comptroller’s Office audit covered spending from 2018 to 2023, when annual expenses for the water district rose from $85,436 to $975,475, “the most significant factor of the town’s financial decline,” according to the findings. 

Created in 1998, the water district initially drew from three wells, but the town eventually had to buy water for residents while it searched for a new well. Fees collected from water district customers are capped by state law at $20,000 annually.

Supervisor John Van Tassel, in his response to the audit, said the town did not traditionally budget for water district repairs because the wells were operating, but “unexpected failures” required emergency spending. “Going forward, the town will consider potential situations that may result in unexpected expenditures” and include them in the budget, he said.