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Residents press Westchester board to release full Ackerman audit and related interviews
Summary
Residents at the Jan. 13 Westchester Village Board meeting urged trustees to release the full Ackerman audit and supporting interviews, questioned the use of attorney–client privilege to withhold material, and offered to share interview records they say were excluded from the posted report.
Several residents used the public comment period at the Westchester Village Board meeting on Jan. 13 to call for the release of a fuller version of an audit and investigative materials related to the Ackerman review.
Kevin Canfield, a resident, said he had obtained a letter he believes shows the attorney general or state police closed an investigation and that the village has delayed releasing the full Ackerman report while claiming attorney–client privilege. “My question is, who is the client?” Canfield asked, urging the board to release records and offering to provide interviews he said were more detailed than what was posted.
A second commenter, who read from the audit, noted the report’s recommendation that “the village consider implementing rules and policies that would provide more oversight of the village manager’s decisions,” and said that the board’s public documents show only line‑item entries rather than receipts for initial budget statements.
Diane Scott clarified she had not received the 689 pages of supporting documents referenced for the audit and said she would send the board an update.
Trustees and staff responded during the meeting by asking residents to share any documents they had and by noting that state authorities had taken records during their inquiry. Board members did not announce any immediate action to release additional materials during the public session; later in the meeting, residents renewed calls for the board to pursue recovery of public funds and the board moved into executive session to discuss personnel and other matters.
What happens next: Residents who pressed the board said they will provide documents to village officials; trustees asked staff to bring information back to the board. The record released publicly to date remains limited to the materials the village has posted, and trustees did not set a public timeline for further disclosure during the Jan. 13 meeting.
