Town Clerk Joins Pay Raise Party

Some of the highlights of the Tentative 2009 town budget are here for your perusal. Yesterday we noted the Town Supervisor's answer to tough times on Wall Street with a proposal to grab himself a 280% pay raise to $65,000. And while no one has kahunas of Mark Evers, there are some notable examples of trying to dig into your pockets, post Wall Street, to fill their pockets.

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Town Clerk Katie Connolly has asked for an 8% increase in her Personnel Services code which includes her salary. Better yet, she has asked for a 25% increase to her other position as Registrar of Vital Statistics. How can Evers say no to Katie or anyone else for that matter when he has his hand in our pockets for $280% for himself. We presume these folks just couldn't handle the drops in their stock portfolios and 401 k's over the past several days!

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Here are some other interesting increases in the town budget which if not expended could result in a 8.5 % TAX CUT for all of us.

The Town Board will set a Public Hearing on the budget tonight at its regular meeting. That's your chance to thank Mark, Katie and the rest of the gang for their fiscal restraint. One ray of light may be Municipal Home Rule law which requires elected officials raises to be subject to a local law and permissive referendum when the raise occurs during a term.

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S23...
2. Except as otherwise provided by or under authority of a state statute, a local law shall be subject to referendum on petition if it:

h. In the case of a city, town or village increases the salary of an elective officer during his term of office or, in the case of a county, increases the salary of an elective officer or of an officer appointed for a fixed term, during his term of office,...

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Treasurer Without a Treasury

When the new officers of the town Democratic Committee were elected Tuesday night, the outgoing Treasurer, Kyran Devery was supposed to turn over all financial records, check books and bank accounts to the new Treasurer. That should have been a snap since Devery handles millions of dollars as the town's Receiver of Taxes.

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But no, when asked about the records, Devery admitted he did not have them. Jeff Spain, he said, had them, and he would turn them over "soon" according to documents filed in the Board of Elections.

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We have to wonder whether Devery, as Receiver of Taxes, handles his town's fiduciary responsibilities in an equally irresponsible and cavalier manner? Why not give him a call and ask him if Jeff Spain has your tax records?