Ms.Lown stated in her letter that as a result of the last audit is was recommended that the supervisor review the bank reconciliations, which I find to be a red flag. After being in the position since 1986, with so many years of experience, an auditor is now recommending that the Supervisor sign off on her work. Did the Supervisor sign off on her work prior to the 2006 audit? Could this recommendation be as a result that there were errors found during the audit that Ms. Lown had made or could it be that she exercised too much authority (though she was bookkeeper and not a Comptroller)? I'm sure anyone with a background in finance can make an assumption as to why this was recommended.
In any case, the recommendation indicates that her work needed to be verified and required supervision.
 
The following document was obtained several months ago while conducting research as to the ongoings in Hyde Park. Given the recent comments that were posted from a rather bitter individual defending the actions of the former bookkeeper, I felt it was appropriate to post this.

Ms. Lown sent a letter in defense of her performance as the bookkeeper to an auditing firm. Too bad it was the wrong auditing firm.  Ms. Lown incorrectly addressed this letter to Sedore and Company who was only assisting in preparation of the 2009 audit.  The auditing company that is actually conducting the audit is O'Connor Davies Munn & Dobbins, LLP: http://www.odmd.com/index.php
Like the check that was made out in the erroneous amount (more then $750,000)and sent to the erroneous company, her letter follows suit. 

I would also like to point out that Ms. Lown has blamed her deceased co-worker Chu Savaths for any discrepencies that may be found in the 2009 audit. How convenient. Blaming someone who is no longer alive who has the ability to  defend themselves against an accusation. In the capacity of Ms. Savath position, she was not responsible for keeping the financial records of the town and the statement  in the letter, it was Ms. Savath's responsibility to report her records to Ms. Lown to which she failed to do,  I find incredelous. If Ms. Savath wasn't reporting her figures to Ms. Lown as part of her job responsibilites as Ms. Lown claims it was, why wasn't this brought to the attention of the acting supervisor.  Why was it then only being stated in this letter (which was wrongly addressed to the incorrect auditing firm) months after Ms. Savath's passing. 

Another point is that she stated that Mr. Martino, as supervisor,  reviewed the bank reconciliations prior to signing off on them. Was it during the review of the records that discrepencies in the bank records were discovered by Mr. Martino?

I also find it interesting that according to the New York State Public Record, Ms. Lown was one of the higher paid employees at town hall. Her 2009 salary was per the following: Hyde Park Hyde Park (General Employee) Lown, Joanne Ndr $48,795. In 2010, her salary is listed at $50,096 per the following website: http://seethroughny.net/StatePayroll/tabid/69/Default.aspx?BRANCHID=4
She made more than the Receiver of Taxes,  the Personnel Manager, the Recreation Director and just a tad under the Town Clerk. This figure does NOT reflect the fringe benefits she received, which could have possibly put her salary at well over $70,000.
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