dlyon  Jan 7 2005 - 8:38am  Opinion/Editorial   

The Windham board of selectmen is right to ask for a state audit of the Mills and the Windham Mills Development Corp.
There is no need to reiterate the long and sorry history of the WMDC undertaking. With the flow of an estimated $33 million through its hands to cleanup the mills grounds and rehabilitate the property, it is only appropriate that there be a complete fiscal accounting of those expenditures.
It is even more important that an audit be performed before the judge makes a final decision on the WMDC’s application for reorganization under federal bankruptcy laws.
If the audit shows a proper record of expenditures and explains where all the money went, it might bolster the WMDC’s petition.
If, on the other hand, the audit reveals inadequate fiscal controls or improper expenditures, then the WMDC should not be allowed to reorganize.
In that event, the court should order a continuation of the foreclosure auction originally scheduled for Dec. 16.
The money invested into the Windham Mills project by the town and the state was supposed to reap benefits in the form of 1,200 more jobs for the area and thousands of dollars in new real estate tax revenue for the town.
Unfortunately, there have been few new jobs and the Mills owe more than $200,000 in back taxes to the town.
Payment of those taxes was curtailed by the bankruptcy filing.