KENT — The Board of Finance met on Tuesday, July 15, to discuss what action to take to resolve problems revolving around former assistant treasurer and former town administrative assistant Ting Agard.
The Board of Selectmen had asked the Board of Finance at the selectmen’s last meeting to add this item to their agenda. The finance members agreed to discuss the consideration of possible action on a special audit and to go over any of the books if necessary.
Agard is being investigated by State Police at Troop L in Litchfield for her conduct while employed by the town. Accusations include misuse of the town’s credit card and payments made to Agard before she began work.
“The auditors will begin soon, they are aware of the situation,� said finance board member George Jacobsen. “We have three options for how we will conduct this audit.�
The options: Give the auditors a list of accounts to examine and have them do an extensive audit; let the auditors look over the books and decide what they wish to examine in greater detail; or have an outside firm do a full forensic audit (the town auditor can’t do this, since it would be a potential conflict). The forensic audit is likely to cost between $5,000 and $20,000.
Board Chairman Todd Cole asked about personal liability if the board decided to take no action at all on an audit.
“Say we’re satisfied and we’re fine without it, even with the evidence of these issues with the books,� said Cole. “Our main question at this point is whether or not we have any personal liability as a board if this audit doesn’t happen.�
Town Attorney Jeff Sienkiewicz seemed to think that the board members would be safe if they decided not to go through with the most extensive audit.
“I’m just not sure a forensic audit would be justified at $5,000 to $20,000, to audit all of the accounts,� he said. “The auditor’s eyes will be open even wider [as they do a standard audit] just by knowing about the situation.�
Sienkiewicz said he believes it’s not necessary to do more than a regular audit at this point. The important thing, he stressed, is that the board should fine tune its controls to make sure this situation doesn’t occur again.
Jacobsen also asked about the board’s personal liability in the matter, just to make sure that they all had clarification of their options.
“I’m concerned if something is found later on, after the audit,� said Jacobsen. “Do we have any personal liability then?�
Sienkiewicz said, “We all owe a duty to the town. We confront the problem and then we deal with it.�
Board member Tom Sides wondered at what point it would be prudent to spend the money for a full forensic audit and what they should do as a board to keep this from happening again in the future.
“The Board of Finance can give recommendations to the Board of Selectmen to deal with the problem and have a dialogue and work collectively to resolve problems,� said Sienkiewicz.
First Selectman Ruth Epstein was asked what was happening with the police investigation; she said she had no updates.
Attorney Sienkiewicz said the police will complete their investigation and present their findings to the office of state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and seek further prosecution if the attorney general advises it.
After a lengthy discussion, the Board of Finance agreed to follow the recommendation of the town attorney and go forward with a basic audit. The auditors will be asked to make the board aware of any inconsistencies and offer guidance on the situation.
The next Board of Finance meeting will be held on Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
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