Lou's Comptroller

Yesterday we received an anonymous comment stating that Lou Desso was busy drumming up votes to appoint his personal Comptroller to replace the current appointee who unlike Lou's choice, was selected after a rigorous search using trade publications and newspaper advertising.

The process for finding and appointing someone to fill this budgetary position was actually professionally thought out. It gave North Greenbush residents an opportunity to apply for the position as well as a broader field of potential candidates. Numerous parties answered the ads and the candidates selected for interviews were tested with face to face questioning by each member of the town board.

Why so much effort was put into the hiring process is pretty obvious, except perhaps to Lou Desso, who apparently sees this position as nothing more than an opportunity for him to score political points, not with the voters of North Greenbush, but with his other constituency in East Greenbush which he will soon represent as a County Legislator.

No interviews needed here, no search or advertising, no screening, no rigorous questioning by the town board, no opportunity to retain a qualified town resident, no, none of that, just a political hire for Lou Desso. Seems Lou's political campaign plans never mentioned his hiring process. Remember that full page flier, Back to Basics"?

Well we do, and basics in hiring for a position that is supposed to be apolitical with enormous responsibility and confidentiality with regard to town finances and personnel issues requires at a minimum the process followed by the town board in appointing the current comptroller.

Whether the current appointee is doing or good job or not is hard to access here. About all we can say is that there have been no comments from the board criticizing his work and to the contrary, many comments praising his work. But neither he or his performance is at issue here. The manner in which such an important professional position is recruited and retained is the issue, the only issue and Lou Desso appears to be trashing professional management for political expediency.

So Mr. Desso, what say you get back to basics in the hiring process.  You're not happy with the current comptroller. Maybe because he refused to pay one of your favorite Conservative water contractors until he finished all the work he agreed to complete.  Maybe because the contractor lost his temper in town hall making the Town Supervisor and the Comptroller feel threatened causing the arrest of the contractor and the issuance of a Court ordered Order of Protection against the contractor. Time for a new Town Comptroller, right? 

Whatever your reasons, try to follow some "basic" principles in recruiting and hiring.  Tell your political buddy from East Greenbush that North Greenbush follows basic guidelines in hiring someone for an important professional position. Tell your friend to wait for the ad, answer it and prepare to be interviewed by the entire town board. Tell him you were wrong to have offered him the job because the title of the job is Town Comptroller, not Lou's Comptroller. Basics Lou, just basics.