A Long Island fire company can’t seem to douse its spending scandals, blowing thousands of taxpayers dollars on hotel rooms and booze, according to the latest state audit.
Town of Babylon officials warned the North Amityville Fire Company that the eyebrow-raising spending represents its “last strike” — as the same station faced heat less than two years ago following a separate scathing audit.
Leaders from the Suffolk County company shelled out nearly $7,000 for 12 hotel rooms tied to its annual dinner in July 2023, despite the venue being only 11 miles from its firehouse, according to the 2024 state comptroller’s review.
“Setting up a venue for a dinner does not require an overnight stay,” the report said.
“That was a waste of Company funds.”
The company also blew nearly $500 on alcohol, even though the past audit warned that such spending was unacceptable.
“Alcohol does not further Company purposes,” auditors wrote, stressing the spending had been explicitly prohibited after the prior audit.
Fire company officials argued the purchases were simply made from the wrong account and were supposed to be covered by fundraising dollars — but auditors rejected that excuse, saying public funds should never have been tapped in the first place.
The latest audit found 87 transactions, totaling about $41,000, lacked receipts and revealed the company paid nearly $4,000 more in unnecessary sales tax on 89 purchases.
“The Comptroller’s audit raises serious concerns about how public funds were managed,” Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer told The Post.
The findings come less than two years after a blistering 2023 audit exposed $586,000 in waste, including a Caribbean vacation to a clothing-optional resort and diamond rings for a fire chief and his wife, prompting Babylon Town to briefly yank its contract with the department.
Now, with another $3.6 million contract on the line, Babylon officials said their patience is nearly exhausted as Schaffer called the latest audit the fire company’s “last strike.”
Babylon officials also warned the town is prepared to sue the company in order to claw back taxpayer money and drag former members into court, if necessary.
“Taxpayer dollars must be spent responsibly and transparently,” Schaffer said.
“The community deserves better.”
The North Amityville Fire Company did not respond to The Post’s request for comment, but recently told Newsday that it has since taken the time to roll out a corrective plan — and argued the work is now done.
An almost entirely new board has overhauled policies, hired a district manager in April to provide oversight, and pointed to updated equipment, revised response procedures and 16 recruits in the pipeline as proof of progress.
Schaffer, having met with the new board earlier this month, said he “expects the necessary steps to be taken to correct these issues and restore public confidence.”
However, he cautioned that promises alone won’t cut it this time, requiring the company to respond to each of the recommendations made in the state audit by the end of the month.
The post LI fire company blows thousands on hotel rooms, booze just miles from its station in latest taxpayer-funded scandal: audit appeared first on New York Post.
