STRUGGLING TO SUPERVISE: Promising to fight the status quo, the newly elected heads of Orchard Park, Amherst, Hamburg and Sardinia storm town hall—and run into a wall.

As a local TV reporter, Mary Travers Murphy spent nearly two decades probing misdeeds on behalf of consumers, going after scofflaws, shysters and the otherwise ethically challenged.

But that was nothing compared with her new job as Orchard Park's town supervisor.

"I had no idea how hard this would be," Travers Murphy said, after a year of dealing with her four Republican rivals on the Town Board. "It's been a real eye-opener."

That would be an apt description for the three other political neophytes ushered into office in January 2006 as part of an anti-incumbent uprising in Erie County's suburbs.

All four are political outsiders who were sent into their town halls - Orchard Park, Amherst, Hamburg and Sardinia - to take on the status quo. And all four are finding out just how unwelcoming the status quo can be.

Rattled opponents call them inept and say their ideas, mostly about cutting taxes, are a danger to the community.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 02:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The latest: PERU PAYS FOR FINANCIAL HELP. Sounds like the supervisor should appoint a bookkeeper to keep track of day-to-day financial matters.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

AMHERST FEELS HEAT OVER CHILL:

Amherst Town Board members held a special meeting Monday to turn up the heat in town-owned buildings and turn down an unpopular effort to save money on energy bills.

The goal was to cut building temperatures two degrees, from 70 to 68, and reap some energy savings, according to Council Member Deborah Bucki, who came up with the cost-cutting idea last month.

But as soon as rooms cooled - especially in Town Hall and in Amherst's Senior Citizens Center - officials began hearing from shivering workers.

"It was a feeling. People were saying it was too cold," Bucki said.

Some did more than grumble.

In one Town Hall office, workers placed damp cloths over the thermostat to "fool" it into demanding more heat, officials said. Others closed office doors that are normally open, hoping to slow down a new wind chill coming from air vents.

"This is government at its worst," Council Member William A. O'Loughlin complained following Monday's vote to raise the temperatures in town buildings back to 70 degrees.

O'Loughlin, the board's liaison to the Senior Citizens Center, took it upon himself last week to order the center's staff to raise the temperature and comfort level for seniors.

O'Loughlin also let it be known that he would offer a new resolution to exempt the seniors from the lower temperatures.

That prompted Bucki to fire off a memo accusing him of opposing a "common-sense effort" to ease the burden on taxpayers: "Vocal resistance from a determined few - led by Council Member O'Loughlin - threatens the success of this tax-cutting strategy, just weeks after its implementation."

After consulting with other town officials, Bucki agreed to offer her own resolution to "immediately set daytime thermostat settings to a temperature not greater than 70 degrees Fahrenheit" and weekend and night readings to "not greater than 65 degrees." The measure also applies to all buildings using town funds for utilities.

But it turns out building custodians cannot raise Town Hall temperatures immediately because the computer used to operate the system is not working and must be replaced, said Assistant Building Commissioner Robert F. Danni.

Do you find yourself growing tired and disgusted of petty internecine power struggles at a time when WNY and the rest of upstate have very serious problems to address. The ship's sinking, people, it's two fricking degrees!

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HENRIETTA VIES WITH PITTSFORD OVER LOCUST HILL:

The 2006 Wegmans LPGA championship at Locust Hill Country Club is settled.

But one aspect about the annual women's golf event continues to unsettle and annoy Henrietta Supervisor James Breese and some Henrietta residents.

It's publicity Pittsford gets during the competition even though the Locust Hill Country Club clubhouse, driving range and 10 of the golf course's 18 holes are in Henrietta. The club's mailing address is Pittsford.

"I've been fighting this battle," Breese said Wednesday. "It's a battle over geography and local pride. The LPGA is an event that everybody loves in this area and everybody would like to take credit for. Naturally we would like to take some credit. The whole north side of Jefferson Road is in Henrietta."
...
Breese said when he talked to Locust Hill representatives about the Pittsford-Henrietta issue, he got two explanations. One is that the country club has a Pittsford ZIP code. The other: "They claim it's not them that's doing it; it's the media," Breese said.

The LPGA's Web site lists the tournament in Pittsford. The Democrat and Chronicle has long used Pittsford as the tournament's location.

Breese said he believes that the LPGA promoters, including Locust Hill to some extent, "prefer the Pittsford dateline because they think it sounds more prestigious and fancy than if they said Henrietta. Naturally, I don't like that very much."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SMALL TOWN, BIG POLITICAL FEUD:

Sardinia Town Board meetings feature coffee, cake and bottled water in the back of the former school gym in the basement of what is now Town Hall.

The treats come with a side order of nastier politics than you would ever expect in a town with just 1,900 voters.

Since the beginning of the year, a consistent crowd of as many as 100 has made the time to watch local government in action.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The latest: TOWN ATTORNEY RESIGNS FOLLOWING TENSION-FILLED PERU MEETING

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PUTNAM VALEY BOARD REFUSES TO REVIEW ANY MORE SUBMISSIONS:

Members of the town's Advisory Board on Architectural and Community Appearance are folding up their blueprints and taking their slide rules home.

They have advised the Town Board they will no longer review submissions because no one is heeding their advice.

"We reviewed everything going on in town and yet got no responses," said Chairwoman Jacqueline Lynfield. "We don't have any clout."

"Since we have no legal standing to date, and no other board seems to be acknowledging our concerns, we have decided as a board to temporarily suspend reviewing submissions," the members wrote in a letter dated June 17. "When the (Town) board has given us some legal clout, we will re-convene."

The letter is signed by Lynfield, Secretary Dell Jones and members Zachary Cosentino and Natalya Palevski. Annette Lindbergh, an inactive member, didn't sign it.

Town Supervisor Sam Davis said he agreed with them.

"They should be part of the conversation all through the project-review process," Davis said.

The town supervisor said he would like to see if there was a way to bring them and another advisory board, the Committee for the Conservation of the Environment, into the inner circle of the town's development review process, which focuses on the Planning Board, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Building Department.

...
The advisory board was created in 2002 by town law and any changes would require an amendment to the law, said Eamon Moynihan of the state's Department of State.

The power of an architectural board varies from town to town.

In Carmel, the panel is charged with approving or denying projects, but it is limited to considering if designs fit in with existing buildings within 500 feet of a project.

In Yorktown, the body is also solely advisory. Chairman Anthony Romano, an architect, agreed with his Putnam colleagues.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another article from Peru. I particularly liked this exchange:

Deputy Supervisor Robert Duquette, sitting in for Town Supervisor Donald Covel at this week's regular meeting, updated the council on a series of bonds that have been paid and also reviewed what he believes is the proper process for paying bonds.

Bills from different departments, such as Highway or Water and Sewer, are placed into the general fund so they can be put onto a general ledger and then into accounts payable, Duquette explained.

After the bills are paid, the departments then replace the funds used from the general fund, he said.

As Duquette finished explaining the process, which he said he and supervisor's secretary Joanne Stafford learned while attending a recent accounting school, Councilman Peter Glushko asked for clarification from former secretary Nancy Long, who was in the audience for the meeting.

Glushko said he didn't feel comfortable with Duquette's explanation, calling the information "gobbledygook."

Duquette said the information was accurate, but Glushko countered by calling Duquette a liar and adding that Duquette had lied to the public and that his false statements were on public record.

Duquette said Glushko was "out of order" and asked Town Attorney Jacqueline Kelleher to explain to Glushko what out of order meant.

Kelleher replied by noting that she felt Glushko was right.

Classic. I like the give-'em-the facts style this reporter uses as you get a much better picture of the actors involved than the more common summary style. I tend to read these Peru articles as if they were the script to a Coen Brothers movie: Supervisor Covel is played by John Goodman; Steve Buscemi plays his minion, Mr. Duquette, etc. It's a shame these characters are all too real for the residents of Peru.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

GRAND JURY REVIEWING FILE REMOVAL:

A grand jury convened Tuesday to hear testimony in a North Greenbush case involving boxes of files removed from Town Hall in December by the outgoing town attorney and others.

On Dec. 31, 2005, Town Clerk Kathryn Connolly says she was in Town Hall setting up for a swearing-in ceremony when she saw four individuals -- Planning Board member and former town attorney Linda Mandel-Clemente; Evelyn Kohler, the confidential assistant to outgoing Town Supervisor Paul Tazbir; Planning Board member Jim Reid; and an unidentified woman -- removing boxes from Town Hall.

The grand jury will determine if any charges should be filed against Mandel-Clemente, Reid, Kohler or the unidentified woman.
...
Mandel-Clemente has yet to be subpoenaed, and referred all questions to her attorney, Ray Kelly. He said his client will "absolutely not" be charged with anything when the grand jury finishes its work.

"She did everything she was ethically required to do to protect those files. The incoming attorney (Josh Sabo) was conflicted," he said.

On the day of the incident, town police followed the group with the boxes to Mandel-Clemente's office and seized the boxes, but Kelly said Mandel-Clemente was only abiding an ethical obligation to keep the files from Sabo. Mandel-Clemente couldn't give Sabo the files, Kelly said, because he had represented an entity that took legal action against the town.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The latest:COVEL FOUND GUILTY OF HARASSING TOWN EMPLOYEE

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

FOUR'S A CROWD AT TOWN MEETING:

When Mike Moscatiello walked into the town's Planning Board meeting Monday night, it was crowded -- but not in the audience.

The dais, which normally seats seven Planning Board members, an attorney and an engineer, was crammed with 11 people.

Four people showed up for two contested Planning Board seats, and no one was giving in. One person even sat in the entryway of the dais. Another started his own row behind everyone else.
...
This unusual situation has its roots in a court case that questioned the legality of a Jan. 2 meeting where Mary Jude Foley and Brian Dwyer were appointed to the Planning Board. Just weeks before, the outgoing Republican-controlled Town Board appointed Linda Mandel-Clemente and Jim Reid, but the new Democratic majority board said those new appointments were illegal.

While the court considered the legality of the Jan. 2 meeting, acting state Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. McNamara ordered the Planning Board to proceed with Reid and Mandel-Clemente as members.

In April, McNamara issued a decision in the case, but it didn't address the Planning Board appointments specifically. However, the majority of the Town Board felt strongly that the decision backed the Foley and Dwyer appointments as did Planning Board chairman, Chip Ashworth. So the pair came to the meeting Monday.

Reid and Mandel-Clemente came, too.

To work around the problem, the Planning Board decided Monday that only the five members not in question would vote, but what happens at next month's meeting is still up in the air.

I'm curious to hear the legal justifications for setting aside the appointments of a prior board. Section 271 of the Town Law clearly provides that the Town Board appoints members of the Planning Board, who may be removed only for cause after a hearing. It is irrelevant whether the members are appointed by a "lame duck majority" board. Once appointed a member may be removed only for cause, which I doubt there is here. It marked an inauspicious start for the new majority for virtually its first act to be one that so flouted the rule of law, and I'm baffled as to why the town attorney defends the action. Anyone with more detailed information is welcome to comment. There must be a lot going on behind the scenes here.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 05:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The latest: PERU COUNCIL ASKS SUPERVISOR FOR RESIGNATION THROUGH LETTER TO DA.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This had to be expected: PERU COUNCIL CONSIDERS OPTIONS AGAINST SUPERVISOR COVEL.

"We feel that Mr. Covel has neglected his fiduciary duties to the town and the town's taxpayers," said Councilor Cortland Forrence, reading from a prepared statement.

"Mr. Covel continues to be unresponsive to our requests and efforts to operate the town. We have lost confidence in Mr. Covel's ability to conduct town business. We feel his inappropriate and unprofessional behavior, and his misguided actions have proven to be disruptive and to jeopardize the well-being of the town."

Forrence described a variety of examples the council cited as Covel's failings, including missed bond payments, inappropriate actions toward employees and elected officials and failure to complete a state-required financial report that was due Friday.
...
According to Town Attorney Dennis Curtin, the council could follow suit and ask Covel to step down from office.

But the options could be much more severe, he said.

"Under town law, an elected official can be removed for malfeasance," he said, noting that many of Covel's actions over the past few months could be interpreted as acts of malfeasance, in particular his actions that have led to a criminal charge for assault against Town Clerk Kathleen Flynn and two pending civil lawsuits.

"The Town Board may take action Monday night to request the district attorney take appropriate action (against Covel)," Curtin said. "The town is in a state of crisis."

Councilor Thomas Powers said it was difficult to do town business without appropriate information coming from the supervisor's office.

"I don't know where to go from here," he said. "The man needs to go. I don't know where to go other than to find a way to remove Mr. Covel from the board. We have no confidence in this man."

Curtin said he didn't know how long legal proceedings might take if there's an attempt to remove the supervisor, but Covel would continue to act as supervisor during the proceedings.

He said it would be a much better solution for the town's taxpayers if Covel would resign from the office.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The saga continues: COVEL FIRES DEPUTY SUPERVISOR, REHIRES FORMER DEPUTY DUQUETTE:

"Oh my God, the man doesn't know what he's doing anymore," [Boardmember Thomas] Powers said. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Covel is just not doing his job. He's letting things go by, and he's making poor decision after poor decision."

Read the whole sordid thing.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ULYSSES SUPERVISOR DERIDES RESOLUTION BARRING OPEN TALK ON WATER DISTRICT:

Ulysses Town Supervisor Doug Austic calls it a “gag order.”

Austic said a resolution adopted by the Town Board earlier this month placed limitations on his right to free speech and interfered with his ability to do his job.

Town Board members who approved the resolution disagree.
The disagreement stems from ongoing discussions about the town's proposed Water District No. 5, and the way in which the project is being managed.

“I don't think they understand what they passed,” said Austic, who wrote a letter to New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, seeking an opinion on the legality of the resolution.

On April 11, the Town Board adopted a resolution requiring “that the Town Supervisor and his agents only communicate in writing, including but not limited to e-mail or fax, concerning the proposed Water District No. 5 on behalf of the Town to individuals, firms, agencies or other entities external to the Ulysses Town government upon approval of a majority of the members of the Town Board in office as of Jan. 2006, given at a regular or special meeting of that board.”

According to Austic, having to consult with Town Board members before communicating with others when discussing Water District No. 5 interferes with his freedom of speech, as well as the ability to do his job.

Ellis, Marino and fellow board member Lucia Tyler voted yes to adopt the resolution. Austic and board member Rod Ferrentino voted no.

“It is ridiculous,” Ferrentino said of the resolution. “It shows a lack of understanding of what a town officer does. It shows a total lack of experience from those board members. As far as I'm concerned, I don't honor it, and I never will.”

Austic said he won't honor the resolution either. In a letter written to Town Board members, Austic said that he will consider the resolution “null and void” until Spitzer's office advises him that the resolution is a legal binding act on the Town Board's part.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Town of Peru has provided some interesting articles of late, and one appeared again yesterday, centering as usual around Supervisor Donald Covel:

BILL PAYMENTS CHANGES SOUGHT:

Peru's town supervisor is looking for changes in how the town pays bills, to correct a problem that arose recently when a loan payment was not paid on time.

Donald Covel, who is serving his first term as supervisor following a 30-year stint as a Town Council member, recently came under fire for missing a bond payment due at the beginning of March.

Covel has said that he knew nothing about the bill until receiving notice that the town was in jeopardy of defaulting, even though the supervisor's office has been responsible for such bills for at least several years.
...
Attending a recent government conference on budgeting and accounting affairs for municipalities, Covel asked municipal-law experts about the situation.

"I was advised that several current practices of the town do not meet the requirements in Town Law statutes," Covel said during a recent Town Council meeting as he read from a memo he had written to Town Clerk Kathleen Flynn.

"According to Section 119 of Town Law, it is the town clerk's responsibility to organize all claims for payment, consecutive number them and present them for audit to the town board. This is not being done."

Covel continued reading the five-paragraph memo he said he composed over the weekend, which described what he learned about payment responsibilities, including the requirement that all long-term debts should be presented by the town clerk to the Supervisor's Office for payment.
...
Flynn, who was in attendance and recording the minutes, said she had been under the impression that the supervisor's secretary was responsible for such bills.

Covel said he believed the supervisor's secretary began taking care of bills a few years ago when then-Town Clerk Joanne Stafford became ill and the town looked for ways to lessen her responsibilities for a period of time.

Town Council member Peter Gluskho said the town needed to research the issue to see if a law had been passed to allow the supervisor's secretary to handle the bills, noting that he didn't mind moving the duty back to the town clerk but that legal steps should be followed.

"We've discovered a law and need to move on and address the situation," Covel said. "If that means helping Kathy in the transition, then we are here for that support."

Covel asked Town Attorney Dennis Curtin to review Section 119 of Town Law to make sure his information was accurate.

I suspect Attorney Curtin will find that the Supervisor, not the Town Clerk, bears ultimate responsibility for seeing that bond payments are made timely. Yes, the Town Clerk must prepare a list of the claims to be paid, but she has no duty to see that upcoming expenses are monitored and payments eventually are made: she merely compiles the claims that have been submitted. A bill for a bond payment likely comes in the form of a statement from the bank not as a claim i.e. with a voucher, etc. The duty to actually plan for and make the payment lies with the Supervisor, or, practically speaking, his bookeeper or confidential secretary if one has been appointed. Section 29 of the Town Law sets out the responsibilties of the Supervisor, and provides in part:

Except where powers or duties specified herein are devolved upon the town comptroller pursuant to section thirty-four of this chapter, the supervisor of each town.

1. Shall act as treasurer thereof and shall demand, collect, receive and have the care and custody of moneys belonging to or due the town from every source, except as otherwise provided by law. Except as otherwise provided in articles eleven and thirteen, he shall also act as treasurer and disbursing officer for every special district therein.

2. Within ten days after their receipt, shall deposit and secure in his name as supervisor, all such moneys in the manner provided by section ten of the general municipal law.

3. Shall disburse such moneys only by checks payable to the person or persons entitled thereto, which checks shall, if the town board requires such countersignature, be countersigned by the town clerk, or by the comptroller in towns where the office of town comptroller has been established. When authorized by resolution of the town board, such checks may be signed with the facsimile signature of the supervisor or other town officer whose signature is required, as reproduced by a machine or device commonly known as a checksigner. By resolution duly adopted, the town board may determine to enter into a contract to provide for the deposit of the periodic payroll of the town in a bank or trust company for disbursal by it in accordance with provisions of section ninety-six-b of the banking law.

4. Shall keep an accurate and complete account of the receipt and disbursement of all moneys which shall come into his hands by virtue of his office, in books of account in the form prescribed by the state department of audit and control for all expenditures under the highway law and in books of account provided by the town for all other expenditures. Such books of account shall be public records, open and available for inspection at all reasonable hours of the day, and, upon the expiration of his term, shall be filed in the office of the town clerk.

It is quite clear that Mr. Covel is at fault here, not the Town Clerk. The rest of the article bears reading as it is full of peculiarities. It appears, for example, that the Town Clerk wants to treat a request by the Town's Budget Officer for photocopies of meeting minutes as a FOIL application and charge him for the copies. Do you think there might be some tension in the air at town hall?

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 05:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PERU REPUBLICAN PARTY ASKS SUPERVISOR TO RESIGN:

Town of Peru Republican leaders have asked for Supervisor Donald Covel's resignation, but Covel says he will stay on the job for the taxpayers' benefit.

Citing Covel's "inability to work cooperatively with any of the other town board members and many town employees," the Republican Committee held a vote of no confidence for the supervisor during the committee's regular meeting Tuesday evening.

The 18 committee members on hand voted unanimously to request Covel's resignation.
...
Republican Committee members also expressed concern that Covel has not been functioning well as the supervisor. Most recently, the Town Council learned that a bond payment was overdue and in danger of going in default.

Covel said he didn't know of the payment and hadn't seen anything about it himself, but many believe that it is his job to know about that kind of situation.

"These are the kinds of things that can have a long-term impact and cost the town a lot of dollars," said Committee Member George Coon. "I do think the root cause of some of the problems is that his confidential secretary (Sue Polhemus) has b een replaced, and she would have been invaluable for a smooth transition."
...
But one of the major concerns that the committee considered was the lack of support between Covel and the board.

"The Town Board and supervisor have historically had a working relationship in this town," Coon said. "Donnie (Covel) has had a sterling reputation for working with others, but that doesn't seem to be happening anymore."

Covel says that he is trying to work with the councilors and has asked them to take a more active role in town government but is being met with resistance from them all.

"It's hard for me to conduct town business at our meetings when all four of them are attacking me," he said. "I do want to work as a team."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

GABRYSZAK-JOHNSON DISCORD FORCES BOARD TO UNTANGLE KNOTS:

Disharmony on the Cheektowaga Town Board has been simmering recently, and the fuel includes the Rails to Trails project and appointments to the Sewer Department, pump station and Planning Board.

The leftover animosity from the most recent Planning Board appointment may be the cause of Monday night's display of dissonance between Town Supervisor Dennis H. Gabryszak and Council Member Thomas M. Johnson Jr. Each had supported a different candidate for a Planning Board appointment made two weeks ago, and each threw some barbs at the other's pet initiatives Monday night.

The article, however, offers scant support for the headline.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PERU OFFICIALS CONTINUE TO DISAGREE DURING SPECIAL MEETING:

Frustration continued to mount in the Town of Peru as the supervisor and councilors sparred over the roles they all play in town government.

The council held a special meeting to complete unfinished business from an earlier regular meeting, but tensions mounted when officials left the scheduled agenda to discuss recent concerns over how business is being conducted in the Town Hall.

Read the whole thing for all the indicators of a by-the-numbers power struggle.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)