A longtime Secaucus Town Hall employee has been suspended with pay after alleged irregularities were found in tax collection statements. However, it is not yet known if the differing numbers were simply the result of an oversight.
Alan Bartolozzi, the Secaucus Collector, was suspended Wednesday, May 20 after alleged irregularities were found in tax collection records, according to Town Administrator David Drumeler.
Drumeler and Town CFO Margaret Barkala have been working to put together a preliminary 2009 budget to present to the Secaucus Town Council. The irregularities in the tax collector’s office were discovered during this budget preparation process, Drumeler said. According to Drumeler, tax revenues should be greater than what Bartolozzi’s records indicate the town has received.
At present, it is unclear whether the allegedly irregularities are the result of an honest accounting mistake. As required by state law, Drumeler has notified the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, he said.
Bartolozzi was appointed as tax collector in 1985.
Members of the Secaucus Town Council were notified of the discovery during an emergency closed session of the governing body. – E. Assata Wright
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