"Supervisor" Germano Speaks for the Clueless

                          Click the above picture to see Germano's performance.
Lately the town comptroller has been the voice of the embattled Supervisor, Lou Desso. Desso gets himself into trouble when he talks so now he relies on "Tony" to bail him out at meetings and with the press. Here is the audio of last night's meeting in which Tony Germano explains away Lou Desso not being charged O & M costs on his recent 2019 tax bill issued by the county.

Here's the explanation. Three people are on this extension but only one has actually hooked in. The one person hooked in was charged the O & M bill on their 2019 tax bill of $100.91 but not the two properties owned by Desso and his son. Tony's answer: The town has not accepted the district yet and apparently won't until a second person wants to hook in. Thus the district extension is "private" and not public until such time as Lou decides to hook in.

Perfect right? So who has to pay if there is a problem with the extension while it remains private? Presumably the sole person who hooked in but do they know that? It's like a private road the town has not accepted. The town can't plow it in the winter. And if it is a private system, why are we charging anyone O & M charges when the town cannot perform work on a private pipeline or system? And what will Rensselaer County think of this explanation. A town allows a "private" sewer extension to hook into to their publicly maintained system? Are there other such examples in the county? Why would the county permit anyone to attach to their system absent their being part of a publicly maintained system? Why didn't the town require the extension to become public before ripping up a public street and taping into the public system? Is it all an elaborate ruse to excuse failing to report the O & M charges to the county for billing? And what if the Desso's never hook in? Seriously! The entire explanation is absurd!

Ironically,  Desso who was the driving force behind the district's creation, does not have to pay the O & M taxes until he decides to hook in. At least according to "Supervisor" Germano. Amazing!

FOIL Appeal
The town board went into an executive session to discus the appeal of a FOIL for a copy of the grand jury subpoena the town received. Result: They ignored the appeal and the Public Officer's Law's requirement to act within 10 days. We guess it's more important to protest Lou Desso from public disclosure of a subpoena than the transparency needed to fully understand the depth of the state investigation into his conduct and that of town officials who did his bidding.

Rensselaer Resident's Plea for tax refund

One resident improperly charged for a water district extension in his case because he has 6 feet of his lot in North Greenbush but still receives no town water services asked for his money back. Again "Supervisor" Germano explained that its "complicated". Tony's logic was that the town followed the law in charging these 16 residents but the town has stopped charging them after all the negative publicity so the town must now be breaking the law they were following when they charged these folks in the first place.

The solution may be a trip to Rensselaer City Small Claims Court. Lou Desso knows this place well! Stay tuned.

Ethics Board?

 For months the town's so called Ethics Board has met in secret refusing to provide guidance regarding several complaints against town officials. One easily rectified complaint asks them to acknowledge that clear conflict of interest presented by the head of the Building Department and Code Enforcement from being a developer here in the town. The town ethics code is crystal clear but the Board has done nothing to stop the conduct. In fact Michael Miner's large project continues on the Planning Board's business meetings with no guidance from the Ethics Board on the permissibilty of him running such a business while employed in his current job as head of the Building Department. Worse, the Chairman of the Ethics Board sits as a member of the Planning Board. Will he vote to approve a project of Miner's while he is supposed to render a decision about his potential violation of the ethics law? Obviously he should recuse himself from all of Miner's projects on the Planning  Board. Equally obvious is that he and the other two members, one of which is a Desso ally and former town board member, the other a respected local clergyman, render a decision and public guidance on whether Miner or anyone who might in the future hold his position, can build houses in North Greenbush while serving as head of building and code enforcement. Folks, it shouldn't take 3 or 4 months to act. And perhaps that's why the Chair of the Planning Board, Mark Lacivita, sought guidance from Ethics Board/Planning Board member Mark Ahern at Monday's meeting as to when his Ethics Board would render their advice or decision. A months or twovwas the answer. Clearly, the Planning Board should table Michael Miner's projects until the Ethics Board Rules. Don't hold your breath, the ethics highway in North Greenbush in not a crowded road.