New Rochelle Withholds Draft Audit Its Own Auditor Cited at Public Meeting

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (July 15, 2026) — New Rochelle’s is refusing to release a draft financial statement that the City’s outside auditor, EFPR Group partner Thomas Smith, consulted and quoted from in response to a question from the public at Tuesday’s meeting — calling it exempt “intra-agency” material.

There’s a problem: state law expressly excludes external audits from that exemption, “draft” status doesn’t remove a record from FOIL’s reach, and using a document publicly to answer a question generally waives any claim to withhold it. Talk of the Sound is publishing the full record — the FOIL request, the City’s denial, and our appeal, with citations — so readers can judge the City’s reasoning for themselves.

Full story on Words in Edgewise.