City of Glen Cove Industrial Development Agency – Project Approval and Monitoring (2020M-139)

Issued Date
July 16, 2021

[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the City of Glen Cove Industrial Development Agency (GCIDA) Board of Directors (Board) and officials properly approved and monitored projects with appropriate and measurable goals and took action when goals were not met.

Key Findings

The Board and officials did not properly approve and monitor projects or take action when goals were not met. We also found:

  • Required Annual Financial Disclosure Statements that are meant to help identify conflicts of interest were not filed.
  • Payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) billing and collections were not monitored or correctly allocated to affected taxing jurisdictions (ATJs).
    • 52 of 115 payments were late and late fees totaling $259,303 were not billed or collected.
  • Nassau County (County) received $375,914 more than it should have. These funds should have been paid to the City of Glen Cove (City), $75,039, and to the school district and library, $300,875.
  • Tax exemptions disclosed in audited financial statements were overstated.

Key Recommendations

  • Each Board member and official should complete and file an annual financial disclosure statement.
  • Monitor PILOT billings and collections to ensure payments are received timely and that penalties and late fees are assessed when appropriate.
  • Allocate PILOTs proportionately to each ATJ based on the amount of real property tax that should be paid to that jurisdiction.

Although GCIDA officials disagreed with certain aspects of our findings, they generally agreed with our recommendations. Appendix B includes OSC’s comments on issues raised in the IDA’s response.