POLAND – A just-released audit of the town’s finances has unearthed a $2 million mistake.
Leaders say they’re not sure what it means.
“We never knew it was happening,” said Rosemary Roy, administrative assistant to Town Manager Richard Chick, who is currently on medical leave. “It was simple human error.”
The mistake, part of the town’s tax-increment financing agreements with the Poland Spring Water Co., goes back six years.
“We have a $2 million negative balance,” Roy said, citing the 44-page audit prepared by accountant Bruce Nadeau of Auburn. He was out of town Friday and unavailable for comment.
Roy did not know whether the town owes money to the water company or if the mistake will force payment from anyone.
“There is no missing money,” Roy insisted.
However, she and others are asking questions.
“The numbers have not been correct for six years,” Roy said.
On June 20, accountant Nadeau is scheduled to meet with selectmen to further explain the implications of the error.
“It’s very upsetting,” said Selectman Wendy Sanborn. She and former Selectman Glenn Peterson, who left office in April, had been calling for the audit for months.
“Accounts were set up improperly,” Sanborn said. “I have more questions than I can ever get answers to.”
Poland Spring signed two tax-break deals with the town in 2000, deals that are scheduled to last 20 years and divert a portion of the company’s taxes to improvements to nearby roads and utilities.
Jane Lazgin, a spokeswoman for Poland Spring parent company Nestle Waters North America, declined to comment Friday.
The Sun Journal was unable to reach several members of the Board of Selectmen.
Peterson, the former selectman, said he worried that auditors might find a mistake. He had challenged town staff to obtain a finished report prior to the annual town meeting, held at the end of April.
Without it, he didn’t feel comfortable proposing a budget to the town.
“How can we make financial decisions if we don’t know how much money is in the bank?” he said. And he worries that the error will lead to larger mistakes.
However, Roy counseled taxpayers to wait until the meeting on June 20.
“All we can do is move forward,” she said. “A lot of questions will be answered.”
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