Town Board Takes The Fifth

What a remarkable sight, a veritable "silence of the lambs" as 5 elected officials sat silent as they listened and refused to answer any questions concerning the hiring process they used to appoint two secretaries to the town justices without ever discussing or allowing the town justices to interview their prospective secretaries.

The new board strategy of deafening silence for public questions was an unprecedented display of arrogance and amounted to a town board taking the Fifth Amendment to avoid the embarrassment of answering public questions. Did the town justices interview their prospective candidates for their own secretarial help? Silence.... Were the names taken from a Civil Service List? Silence.... Are the positions funded in the budget?Silence....Would the Supervisor approve if he were to find a new secretary in his office, hired without his knowledge or consent by his board colleagues? Silence....

This is our new unanimous single minded open government in North Greenbush. The town board tried to impose a court clerk on the justices last year and they refused to accept the names. So now they jam secretaries down their throats without even the courtesy of allowing them to interview the candidates.

Democracy at work folks. Watch the video tape. It proves actions speak louder than words.