BREAKING… Wallkill Republicans raise security concerns over Meyer’s Town Hall access

TOWN OF WALLKILL – Democratic Supervisor Frank DenDanto is facing criticism from Republican political rivals who question why his friend, Neil Meyer, was allegedly given a security badge and access to Town Hall despite not being a town employee.

Republicans contend that allowing Meyer, the Town of Chester’s comptroller, access to the municipal building raises security concerns and could represent a breach of the town’s access-control procedures. Meyer is a former Town of Wallkill councilman who has assisted DenDanto with the proposed 2027 budget, which includes a projected 64% property tax increase.

Town of Wallkill Republican Councilman Mark Coyne said Meyer’s swipe badge was seen by multiple guests at  DenDanto’s last ‘Spill the tea’ community feedback event. According to Coyne, when asked about it, DenDanto said Meyer “is a consultant.” Meyer is not paid in any form by the town. Coyne also alleges that Meyer had access to the Town of Wallkill’s computer security remote access app, and he could see everything in the accounting office and payroll.

Coyne said on Monday he has removed Meyer from the app and has ordered an audit trail.

“The board never voted to make (Meyer) a consultant,” Coyne and another Town of Wallkill Republican, Eric Johnson, said in a joint statement. “This raises many questions. A comptroller from another town should know better, and so should the Supervisor.  Nobody should have access to the Town’s accounting department except those approved by the Town Board. We have no idea what he is up to off hours, and are looking into when he entered the office and whether he has computer access. This is the definition of corruption”

DenDanto told Mid-Hudson News this weekend that Meyer, a CPA, has a “visitor’s pass” and that such passes are “not uncommon.”

“Their vendetta with Neil is laughable and directly connected to him identifying the (town’s) fiscal issues first,” DenDanto said.

Several Town of Wallkill officials said visitor passes do not exist and that Meyer has a town swipe badge with access to the accounting office, where many employees are not permitted to enter.

Michael Alcazar, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said that if Meyer has swipe card access to Town Hall as a nonemployee, it “violates every basic rule of government access control.”

“It undermines the integrity of audit trails and creates an accountability gap that no town should tolerate,” said Alcazar, who spent 30 years in the NYPD and retired as a detective. “Exceptions like this open the door to data vulnerability issues. Access to areas where sensitive documents are located requires verified authority, not informal access granted because he is a friend. Town officials are justified in questioning a practice that exposes the municipality to avoidable administrative and ethical concerns.”

The State Comptroller’s Office routinely audits local governments for physical and digital access control breaches, including building access systems, key cards, key fobs, and IT user accounts.