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Resident accuses town officials of delays in property borrowing; board says interim treasurer completed loan after fiscal year
Summary
At the May 12 Select Board meeting, resident Nilda Cohen said she had requested documents about a delayed borrowing tied to a property purchase and warned that perceived manipulation of financial records would be a "big problem." Officials responded that the prior elected treasurer left before completing the borrowing and an interim treasurer executed the loan after the fiscal year closed, triggering timing-related consequences.
A Southampton resident told the Select Board on May 12 that she believed there were serious problems around a delayed municipal borrowing connected to a property purchase.
"If the town, the select board, the administrator, the accountant are manipulating a balance sheet, that's a big problem," resident Nilda Cohen said during public comment, after saying sellers for the property had already been paid yet the town's borrowing remained open. Cohen told the board she had sought documents, that answers were slow to arrive, and that she regarded the situation as a red flag.
Board members and town staff responded by explaining the town's timeline for the borrowing. Officials said the elected treasurer who had authority to complete the borrowing left office abruptly; the town had voter authorization to borrow but the transaction was not completed before the end of the fiscal year. An interim treasurer later executed the borrowing through state notes, the board said, and because the borrowing occurred after June 30 it produced timing effects that will be addressed through free cash and the town's normal accounting procedures.
Cohen said she would provide documents to the board. Meeting participants at times raised process boundaries for public comment and said that detailed follow-up could be handled in office hours or a separate forum to gather records and resolve outstanding questions.
The board said the information about the executed borrowing has now been provided in meeting materials and that staff will work with the resident to ensure she receives requested documentation. The transcript does not record a formal vote or an investigation outcome; the matter was presented as a request for records and explanation rather than a binding board action.
