When a contractor with political clout wants to meet with the Town Board Majority he endorsed, they jump like grasshoppers! Never mind alerting the public and never mind proper notice under the Open Meetings Law. Don’t even bother posting meeting on the town web page or sending out emails to the hundreds of residents on the email notification list. Just call the Board members with only 48 hours notice and head into a cozy executive session demanded by the contractor in Water 14.
Here is the Open Meetings Law which applies to Monday's caper:
§104. Public notice. 1. Public notice of the time and place of a meeting scheduled at least one week prior thereto shall be given to the news media and shall be conspicuously posted in one or more designated public locations at least seventy-two hours before such meeting. 2. Public notice of the time and place of every other meeting shall be given, to the extent practicable, to the news media and shall be conspicuously posted in one or more designated public locations at a reasonable time prior thereto. 3. The public notice provided for by this section shall not be construed to require publication as a legal notice. 4. If videoconferencing is used to conduct a meeting, the public notice for the meeting shall inform the public that videoconferencing will be used, identify the locations for the meeting, and state that the public has the right to attend the meeting at any of the locations.
Apparently on Monday January 14th, the Town Board did in fact meet and went into an executive session. While we don’t know what was discussed, we can guess it had to do with a hair brained scheme cooked up by Casale’s ally in the Building Department, Michael Miner to get Casale more money for his already overspent contract. Miner is a member of the Conservative Committee in ED 8 and the Chairman of that committee is Michael Casale.
Our sources say that the scheme would have the Town Board use unspent bonding authority in other smaller water districts and get enough money to pay what Casale says he’s owed. Such co-mingling of funds is patently illegal and would amount to getting money from other residents in the town who do not live in Water 14 to in effect pay for WD 14. That’s like the public vote Evers and company just cancelled which would have allowed him to borrow $830,000 from a single town wide district and use it to pay bills in WD14.
Instead of getting voter approval for bore borrowing, this plan would used already approved but unneeded borrowing in smaller district to get access to money. The problem of course, is that one cannot borrow from one district's bonding authority and spend it in another district. The fact that Mr. Miner and company proposed the scheme is ample evidence of how poorly things are run in town hall. The last time these folks approved payments to this company, the payments were exceeding the contract price and the bonding amount. Never once did they seek legal council from the town legal staff. They simply approved the applications for payment and forwarded them on as if they were a routine bill. This is an excellent reason why this union shop should not be allowed to operate unsupervised with a manager apart from the bargaining unit watching the hen house. When the prior board attempted to hire a professional engineer, Evers with the help of his pals in the county civil service fired him. Real Supervision is bad for business!
Isn’t it telling that Evers would use his office to call such a meeting so quickly for a political supporter yet ignore his legal responsibility to convene the Board within 10 days as required by law when requested and filed by two Board members. It shows not only Evers arrogance and disdain for the law but that he is totally beholden to contractors and developers like the ones who donated to the fundraiser he held last October without proper registration with the Board of Elections and partially reported this week, after the election was over.
Apparently on Monday January 14th, the Town Board did in fact meet and went into an executive session. While we don’t know what was discussed, we can guess it had to do with a hair brained scheme cooked up by Casale’s ally in the Building Department, Michael Miner to get Casale more money for his already overspent contract. Miner is a member of the Conservative Committee in ED 8 and the Chairman of that committee is Michael Casale.
Our sources say that the scheme would have the Town Board use unspent bonding authority in other smaller water districts and get enough money to pay what Casale says he’s owed. Such co-mingling of funds is patently illegal and would amount to getting money from other residents in the town who do not live in Water 14 to in effect pay for WD 14. That’s like the public vote Evers and company just cancelled which would have allowed him to borrow $830,000 from a single town wide district and use it to pay bills in WD14.
Instead of getting voter approval for bore borrowing, this plan would used already approved but unneeded borrowing in smaller district to get access to money. The problem of course, is that one cannot borrow from one district's bonding authority and spend it in another district. The fact that Mr. Miner and company proposed the scheme is ample evidence of how poorly things are run in town hall. The last time these folks approved payments to this company, the payments were exceeding the contract price and the bonding amount. Never once did they seek legal council from the town legal staff. They simply approved the applications for payment and forwarded them on as if they were a routine bill. This is an excellent reason why this union shop should not be allowed to operate unsupervised with a manager apart from the bargaining unit watching the hen house. When the prior board attempted to hire a professional engineer, Evers with the help of his pals in the county civil service fired him. Real Supervision is bad for business!
Isn’t it telling that Evers would use his office to call such a meeting so quickly for a political supporter yet ignore his legal responsibility to convene the Board within 10 days as required by law when requested and filed by two Board members. It shows not only Evers arrogance and disdain for the law but that he is totally beholden to contractors and developers like the ones who donated to the fundraiser he held last October without proper registration with the Board of Elections and partially reported this week, after the election was over.
Here is the Open Meetings Law governing appropriate use of Executive Sessions:
§105. Conduct of executive sessions. 1. Upon a majority vote of its total membership, taken in an open meeting pursuant to a motion identifying the general area or areas of the subject or subjects to be considered, a public body may conduct an executive session for the below enumerated purposes only, provided, however, that no action by formal vote shall be taken to appropriate public moneys: a. matters which will imperil the public safety if disclosed; b. any matter which may disclose the identity of a law enforcement agent or informer; c. information relating to current or future investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense which would imperil effective law enforcement if disclosed; d. discussions regarding proposed, pending or current litigation; e. collective negotiations pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law; f. the medical, financial, credit or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a particular person or corporation; g. the preparation, grading or administration of examinations; and h. the proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property or the proposed acquisition of securities, or sale or exchange of securities held by such public body, but only when publicity would substantially affect the value thereof. 2. Attendance at an executive session shall be permitted to any member of the public body and any other persons authorized by the public body.
Look out North Greenbush Taxpayers. It’s going to be a rough ride!
Tomorrow's Edition:
The new look of "Justice" in North Greenbush
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