Financial consultant raises audit and cash-flow concerns; assembly asks for documentation

At the Aug. 3 assembly meeting, Sarah Esplan of Esplan and Associates told officials the borough has experienced “a tremendous amount of turnover” in the finance director role and that the firm repeatedly stepped in to stabilize audit preparation. Esplan said the firm found cash-flow shortfalls that required authorized transfers: “I contacted the borough manager and received authorization to move 1000000 dollars from the savings account into the checking account in order to ensure the borough's ability to meet payroll and vendor obligations,” she said, and described subsequent moves of $500,000 and $2,000,000 from investment accounts.