After the Pay Raise Brawl

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We did not have a chance to tell our readers about events which occurred in town hall after last week's board meeting in which town board members duked it out over pay raises. So before we forget, let us chronicle a behind the scenes look at the vote and what some politicians really thought about the raises.

After the town board meeting concluded, there was a loud exchange heard between Councilman Desso who led the charge against the raises for Evers and other officials, and the new town comptroller. The exchange consisted of the Councilman attempting to affirm that the comptroller was not a witness to a conversation between Evers and Desso regarding his desire for a $42,000 raise. According to Evers, Desso set him up by telling him to go ahead and put it in the budget, that he would support the request.

When this blog and the public criticized the raises, Desso changed his position, apparently fearful of the powerful political weapon his affirmative vote would create should he pursue a run for the county legislature next year.

The loud exchange in the comptroller's office began with Desso asking the comptroller to verify that he had not witnessed Desso's conversation with Evers regarding his support for the raise. Evers had apparently indicated as much to Desso either in person or by email. The Comptroller's response was not what Desso wanted to hear and the exchange became more sharp and loud. As the pair came out into the hallway, Evers himself heard the exchange and had to be wondering how he could have been skewered so effectively by his would be political ally, Conservative Vice Chairman and Council member Lou Desso who was so angry at the comptroller, he was talking about writing him up for insubordination. (That's town hall talk for telling the truth.)

So it appears that the fiscal conservative who wanted political points for stopping the big raises was actually for them before he was against them. That's a phrase familiar to Republicans who are really skilled at making waffles while calling opponents wafflers! This particular waffle was made when Councilman Desso woke up and realized that if he continued to support the big 280 for Evers, he'd have one hell of time running for the legislature next year on the GOP ticket.

Not to worry Lou, you ducked that steel spatula. But on your way to the Sunday pancake breakfast, you forgot to vote against your party chairman's 1 million dollar settlement in Water 14 in which you got the whole town mad instead of just the folks in Water 14. You voted to make everyone pay for the greed and mismanagement. That spatula, past tense, is a whole lot bigger than a $42,000 pay raise and might explain the batter at the Sunday morning breakfast kitchen.