Elmont woman named acting comptroller

Averil Smith, an Elmont resident, was named the Town of Hempstead’s acting comptroller on Aug. 26.

Smith is a certified public accountant, and previously served as the Town of North Hempstead comptroller. During her tenure, the town’s credit rating upgraded to AAA status, the highest a municipality could achieve.

She also has more than a decade’s worth of experience working as a financial auditor for various firms such as Ernst and Young, and while working in North Hempstead, Smith identified a former employee who embezzled more than $98,000 from the Solid Waste Management Authority. The employee, Helen McCann, later pleaded guilty to one count of corrupting the government in the second degree.

“Averil Smith is an exceptionally talented and uniquely qualified financial expert who is needed to help oversee the town’s finances,” Town of Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen said. “Her prior experience ferreting out corruption and overseeing public dollars with an eagle eye approach is exactly what taxpayers want.”

Gillen also announced that Smith has agreed to take on the new role at her same pay and that a new finance director will not be appointed, resulting in a large savings for taxpayers. Additionally, Smith will forgo the use of a town car that was assigned to the previous comptroller.

“Averil Smith has already started working with the comptroller’s office and planning the 2020 budget,” said Gillen. “She is the perfect candidate to ensure a seamless transition during the middle of budget season.”

Smith replaces long-serving town comptroller Kevin Conroy, who retired after Gillen criticized him for extending Dover Group Corp.’s operation of the Malibu Shore Club for five years without notifying her or the town board. Gillen called the extension a “backroom deal,” which triggered an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York on Aug. 1.

Conroy, however, told other outlets that his decision to retire came from health reasons and was not due to the Malibu incident.