Posted by Ed
on December 28, 2007, 2:03 pm
24.34.144.49
A lot of hands in a lot of cookie jars!!!
If we all wake up, and pay attention as much as we can, many more
hands will be caught in the cookie jar. Many of the Rodents who feed
on our taxbase, and the HARD WORKING TAXPAYER'S of many of the
Communites in The Merrimack Valley will begin to jump ship when they
find that WE ARE WATCHING!!!
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The $2 million plan
By Staff Writer/Max Bowen
Wed Dec 26, 2007, 01:01 PM EST
Billerica, Mass. - A study of the town's 40B developments has
revealed the developers behind Salisbury Hill may owe the town as
much as $2 million.
According to Vice-Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Marc Lombardo,
the town 40B Committee recently did an audit of its affordable
housing developments, and learned Salisbury Hill Corporation had
allegedly hidden profits from the town.
Under 40B regulations, a developer cannot make more than 20 percent
of the profits that come with selling units in a 40B complex.
"Salisbury Hill Corporation (Stephen Dresser; David Way; and, Joel
Williams) the developer of Salisbury Hill Estates provided false and
misleading financial statements to the town of Billerica," wrote the
committee in their 25-page report. "These financial statements or
cost certification reports overstated the expenses and understated
the revenues of the Salisbury Hill Estates housing development."
Total costs were determined by the committee to be around $1.9
million, although the final amount could be as high as $3 million.
The report filed by the committee was forwarded to the state
Inspector General's Office, which discovered several hundred thousand
dollars with either insufficient documentation or none at all. In
some cases costs were inflated. For example, the cost for excavation
was reportedly almost $224,000, yet $100,000 had no supporting
documentation. The investigation determined the corporation exceeded
their 20 percent ceiling by over $1.7 million.
A statement on behalf of the corporation issued by their attorney
Edith Netter states the Inspector General's report is nothing more
than speculation and unsubstantiated conclusions.
"Common sense dictates that it would have been impossible to build a
44 town home community for the project costs alleged by the IG,"
states the company.
The statement adds that the Regulatory Agreement is the only legal
document that outlines of a project's profits are supposed to be
calculated.
The 40B committee's report also states that the developers inflated
the expenses associated with the development by including costs
associated with four other developments, two in Tewksbury and two in
Billerica.
Sales commissions not paid to the broker and excessive developer
overhead payments are other methods which the developers allegedly
used to keep profits for themselves, the report states. The committee
learned the developers tried to mislead the town by stating the cost
for the land the project sits on was $2.3 million, when it was
actually $610,000.
"They're never supposed to make more than the 20 percent," Lombardo
said. "If that happens, the town would be able to capture that money."
The statement sent by Netter claims Town Counsel negotiated and
approved the Regulatory Agreement with the town, which includes the
value of the land and calculations used to determine that value.
At their Dec. 17 meeting, the board voted to pass along the results
to town counsel, who will determine an appropriate course of action.
The board will also meet in executive session to look at how they
will go about reclaiming the funds.
"The only one in the report was Salisbury Hill," said Lombardo. "But
I have no doubt that additional audits will be done."
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