Saturday, August 31, 2013

Supervisor Langley's Advertiser Letter


East Greenbush’s Finances Remain Highly Stressed
 

Since taking office in 2012, I have attempted to lead the town board majority toward embracing an attitude of fiscal austerity where the town’s budget is concerned, especially in the area of spending.  I’ve encouraged a reduction in staffing, where appropriate, and have refused to backfill several positions in the department of public works which, alone, would have saved the town almost a quarter of a million dollars a year; however, as the expression goes, “you can lead a mule to water, but you can’t make it drink.”

These repeated savings could have been applied toward reducing the town’s inter-fund debt of over $2 million, which was incurred prior to my administration.  If applied toward the debt, which resulted from faulty fiscal gimmicks years ago, it could have been paid off in approximately half the time that it will now take.

Although I have done my level best to cooperate with the town board majority, my advice on fiscal prudence has apparently fallen on deaf ears as evidenced by the recent reports from numerous fiscal analysts who continue to warn the public of the precarious state of the town’s finances.  This includes the town’s current junk-bond status and the danger of bankruptcy.

Indeed, the failed fiscal practices of the past persist by the town board majority which has controlled our budgets for nearly three years.  This was underscored by the town’s recent financial audit by the State Comptroller, which found East Greenbush to be significantly stressed.

Currently, I am pushing hard to complete the independent, outside audit that I initiated last year.  Unfortunately, because of the poor condition of the town’s fiscal records going back to 2009, the town has had to hire another accounting firm to re-establish correct financial information so that the auditing firm can complete its work for the town.

The residents of East Greenbush deserve the truth about their town’s finances.  The willingness of the board majority to distort the true picture is a prime example of how East Greenbush got itself into such dire financial straights in the first place.

~Keith A. Langley, East Greenbush Town Supervisor

56 comments:

  1. Good morning East Greebbush bloggers ! This post is nothing more then the my opinion , and I would like to pass my thoughts on to you the people who read this blog , hopefully Mr Johnson will allow this post . My wife and I started following politics in this town , because we felt as tax payers our money we gave to our town fathers , just was not getting the respect we thought our hard earned money should be getting . My wife and I can feel the frustration of the bloggers . Lets not lose sight of the the people who created this problem ! I could name names but we all know who the players are and what political team they all hide behind . The best thing we all could do is stay on target , feel blessed that there is people that are willing to expose them selfs for what they be leave in , be happy there is progress being made , ask what you can do to help , anybody can sit on a blog post and knock fun at the people out working for us . THE GOAL IS ! clean up town hall , just because we do not like the way its being done , at least people have the guts to stand up and push for what is right . A post on a blog is just that a post ! people out fighting for what is right and making progress is just that , PROGRESS !

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  2. In the Supervisor's article, I feel his commitment to saving our town. We need fresh, new faces in town hall with fresh, new ideas. The old way hasn't worked and has us, as the Supervisor said, "in dire financial straights." Let's give the new faces a chance but they have to be the faces that want to work WITH the Supervisor to turn things around. Those faces are Deb DiMartino and Mary Ann Matters. We can no longer ignore the critical importance of voting and of voting for the right people. Let's finally give the Supervisor a chance to show us what he can do and to make our town something great. Don't forget that Primary Day is September 10th. If you are enrolled in either the Conservative, Independence or Working Families party, you CAN and MUST vote on Primary Day. Therefore, please, please do!! Thank you.

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  3. I am also planning to vote for Matters and DiMartino. They reoresent the possibility of change.

    Voting for the Democratic Party candidates will serve no purpose if you want positive change.

    Voting for Matters and DiMartino has, at least, the possibility for positive change.

    The last sveral years has shown taxpayers and voters exactly what to expect from a Democratic majority. Some things have gone well. The round-a-bout is an example.

    But the Democratic Party's lasting legacy will be the total financial mismanagement of iur town. They completely own the town's recent financial problems and those problems are serious, factual and proven by objective third parties.

    So we, the humble taxpayer, need a fresh perspective. Matters and DiMartino offer that.

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  4. I think what's really important in this year's campaign is some SPECIFIC action items which candidates pledge to accomplish - not just "openness, honesty and sincerity." (Remember, we've heard the "transparency" pledge before.) One approach might be to re-visit the OSC audits on the Ambulance District and the Town since 2000 and take a look at the findings and recommendations which have been ignored by the various iterations of the Town Board. There will be a list of these items coming soon.

    So here's an invitation to Ms. DiMartino, Ms. Matters, Ms. Vallee and Mr. Botillo to get specific on issues in this digital space. If you want to make sure that you are not being impersonated during this silly season, send your statements to eggadfly@yahoo.com, and I'll confirm with you.

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  5. EAST GREENBUSH BOARD MEMBERS' RESPONSE NOT REASSURING

    In an effort to downplay the current financial crisis in East Greenbush, in light of the upcoming elections, the Democrat-controlled Town Board attempts to avoid responsibility. In their response to a recent NEWSMAX article in which East Greenbush is ranked #2 on a National Bankruptcy list, the Town Board Majority made excuses for past wrong doing by placing blame on the previous Democrat-controlled administration, and attacked NewsMax and Times Union. The news articles exposed the reality of the financial crisis in East Greenbush by citing facts from the New York State audit.

    I ask the residents of our Town, which do you consider more credible, A State audit or the Town Board Majority with a recent history of less than adequate practices? Although the current board majority claims not to be a part of these issues, the fact is that their mentors and fellow Democrat committee members WERE involved. The current majority leaders are claiming “the 2010-2012 adopted budgets included nearly $1.1 million to repay the sewer and water funds.” While there appears to be no evidence of this in the budgets, it should be noted that there CANNOT be a budget line to pay debt owed between department funds. No mention or discussion about the interest required when borrowing occurs. I ask our leadership, how much of $2+ million in debt has actually been paid back, as the debt can only be paid back through a surplus of funds at the end of the fiscal year?

    I urge residents of East Greenbush to read the above mentioned State audit finalized in 2012, and the adopted budgets which are available on the Town's website. We need to continue to question current majority until we get the answers and remedies we need and deserve. More importantly, we can't expect the people that dug the hole to get us out of the hole. Do we want a Town Board which makes excuses for past mis-deeds and does not look to the future?

    Scott Russo

    -Concerned East Greenbush resident

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    1. Mr. Russo, I agree with "we can't expect the people who dug the hole to get us out of the hole." The Dems have been in the majority on the town board for over a decade now, so maybe it is now time to see what the Republican candidates can do to get us out of trouble financially. It stands to reason that Dem candidates Botillo and Vallee would not have been endorsed by the Democrat committee in EG if they weren't trusted to carry on with business as usual. It's time to send the Dems a strong message that business as usual can no longer be tolerated. I don't want to see our town go bankrupt. The only logical choices on Primary Day (Sept 10) and Election Day (Nov 5) are DiMartino and Matters. Otherwise, we'll be sending the Dems a message that we're okay with things the way they are. I, for one, am not remotely okay with things the way they are and I'm going to use my votes to send that message. I hope others will join me and do the same.

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  6. Keith Langley's piece is a good start but like Scott Russo's post it doesn't contain any real corrective measures and feels a lot like 'give us a majority and we'll think of something.' The supervisor is right that good government is the place to start but he voted FOR some of the things he is now railing against. The full slate of patronage and nepotism appointments made at this year's organizational meeting passed by a vote of 5-0. Russo has a point that the democrats have had a major hand in running this place into the ground but why are we only hearing this tough talk during a campaign? Where's the financial recovery plan that will be needed? What about a hiring freeze? Keith Langley's good government approach may help stop the bleeding and make a small dent in the debt but where's the plan that will ultimately pay off the debt and yield tax relief for the besieged residents of East Greenbush?

    If the republicans' only rationale for this campaign is "throw the bums out" than we may just get a different crowd with no ideas on how to fix our problems. How about some specific proposals? How about setting some goals, like a 10% reduction in the size of local government in two years and a 15% reduction in town taxes over the next five years? Then show us how you will do this. I agree with Scott Russo, I'm also not remotely okay with things the way they are but what exactly would change if the republicans get a majority? I don't ask this out of anger or defiance, I honestly want to hear what you will do. But if you can't answer questions like this you are just asking us to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.

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    1. Right on the money, Jack!!!

      We need to know what would be different in the coming budget submission from the Supervisor and the coming Organizational Meeting. And I'd throw in a pledge to pass the Ethics Board's recommended Ethics Code which the current majority is preparing to gut in the next couple of months.

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    2. I don't mean any offense to you Jack or anyone else, but the last time a person laid out a plan I believe it was Ann Taylor, and look where that got her nowhere.

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    3. Jack, you refer to the Supervisor's decision not to backfill three full time positions at the DPW as only making a small dent in the reduction of town government, in which the town would have benefited from an approx. $250,000 per year in savings to the East Greenbush taxpayers. Are you kidding?

      As for reducing our taxes in East Greenbush. With your background in education, perhaps you could speak with the school board and ask them to provide a plan to reduce the cost of running our school district. Jack, OVER 50% of every dollar you and the rest of us besieged taxpayers pay goes to run the schools. Then you have the county getting in our pockets for their share, and as I understand it, the town runs on approx. .19 cents of every dollar collected. I will conclude by saying that the quarter of a million dollar a year in proposed savings the Supervisor was denied by the Democrat board majority was significant, and I applaud him for his willingness to fight for the spending reductions we desperately need.

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    4. Jack, you sure have a compelling way with words. While I don't profess to understand the strategy behind the Supervisor's decisions to vote one way or another or say one thing or another, I have to trust that the man I voted for knows what he's doing. We MUST remember that the Supervisor is a MINORITY member on the board and, as such, he has to keep his "plans" for the town, financial recovery plan or other, secret until such time as he is in the MAJORITY and in a position to execute his plans. Why would he divulge his secrets now and give the DEMS the jump on defeating his plans or even stealing them and taking the credit for them. Let's support DiMartino and Matters and put the Supervisor in the MAJORITY on the town board. Then, you can criticize him all you want but criticizing him now is like challenging an unarmed man to a gun fight. It's not sporting or fair.

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    5. Chris? Does this methodology mean that we will get another proposed budget without the "new plans" in it so as not to "screw up" election possibilities? I think we've had enough of the Nixonian secret plan strategy. It's this posture that makes it so easy for the Dems to run against you in this election. Get out of the way and give Mary Ann and Deb a shot.

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    6. Anonymous 7:40: You're right about how our taxes break down but in a discussion about town finances and taxes it is a bit of a deception to refer to school and county taxes. There's no doubt our school taxes are way too high but that's another discussion. There's less wiggle room in our county taxes because a large part of county spending is for entitlements that we have no control over. The issue is whether our town is being governed in a cost-effective manner and the answer is clearly 'no.' I think a fair workload and cost analysis would show that the town could maintain all of its current services at 85% or less of the cost we are now paying. The key to lowering taxes is to identify the unnecessary 15% and eliminate it. Lowering taxes should be the goal, not merely chipping away at the debt.

      The supervisor's proposed savings are a good start but he did vote for some of the things he is now saying should not have been done. In fairness to him, I had a conversation with him before last year's budget and he identified 7 or 8 ways we could save money but he didn't have the votes to implement them. Many of them were good ideas. But this is still chipping away at a problem that won't be solved any time soon by measures of this kind. And in fairness to the truth he didn't FIGHT for any of these savings. He may have favored them but he didn't use the 'bully pulpit' of the supervisor's office to fight a public relations battle for these things and he voted with the majority more than he didn't. It's fair to ask if we're only hearing about it now because it's campaign season.

      I do agree that we won't be able to fully judge Keith Langley's tenure as supervisor until he has a majority and can make the changes he says he wants to make. But there is an art to being an effective minority and we haven't seen it. Of course, there's an art to being an effective majority and we haven't seen that either. It's time to put the candidates' feet to the fire and see who has the best ideas.

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    7. I thought we were talking about being besieged taxpayers in East Greenbush. People are moving out of town because of the total cost of taxes being to high.

      Over 80% of the total taxes collected go toward paying for things other than running our town. Focusing on saving 15% of the 19% that the town has to run on is as you would say only putting a dent in it.

      There is more fat at the county level, and in our school district than in a pound of bacon. Starting with Nagle's salary. You could save millions at the county level, starting by eliminating the entire legislature and forming a board of supervisors like it is done in many counties, Saratoga county for example.

      Pulling a number of 15% out of the sky without having first done your homework is irresponsible. You have said nothing to support this reduction you feel to be so achievable. Certainly you would affect critical services such as our police department, and our DPW with such a drastic cut. At the end of the day you would have only saved peanuts. Share with us your logic to make it all believable.

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    8. So we should put up with the sloppyness and corruption which has been revealed in Town Government because more is being spent elsewhere??? Gimme a break!!

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  7. News flash : electing " Defruscio-backed" Republicans will do this town no good. It only means different faces at the trough ! You want real change - get rid of Defruscio !

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    1. What is more concerning is that Phil Malone is the Democrat Committee chairman, as well as a town board member, and has loaded the Democrat Committee with his family and friends so he can control, and promote their failed policies, and maintain status quo in our town government for years to come.

      If you vote for the Democrat candidates you WILL be voting for a ride on the Titanic.

      Why would you jump on a ship that's already heading for the bottom.

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  8. I was over on Steinson, Condo , Leddy , O Brian , Vanwormer , Malones Blog Reading some really nasty things . I can say one thing this blog is much more intelligent . Now they are talking about HARTINGS DEAD UNC. That worked at Albany public market in Rensselaer 65 years ago Last week they posted some real bad things . This was so bad and outrages it was forced down . Don looks like this is the blog to read now .

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    1. Never forget that during the last "silly season" it got so obscene on Talks that they ended up deleting a good deal of their history. That's called "historical revisionism" practiced well by the early Communist leadership in Russia.

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    2. I take offense at the constant reference to the "silly season." There is nothing silly about democracy, nothing silly about people who step forward in an effort to help, and nothing silly about the election process, including the campaign season, which is nothing less than grueling. Denegrating the process by calling it the "silly season" doesn't help and only shows your contempt for the process that people faught and died for.

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  9. For me the thing that resonates abiout all the gadflies, including new member Jack Conway, is that they have no ax to grind. By that I mean they seek nothing for themsleves except lower taxes for all of us and just plain good government.

    They attack bad spending decisions made by the majority for sure. But that's the price the majority has to pay for the last several years of utterly and totally wasteful speniding.

    Honestly, O'Brien, Manold and Malone did you think a day of reckoning and being held accountable would never come?

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    1. And yet Mangold has the nerve to run for the County Legislature. It's not bad enough that she's had a hand in driving our town into bankruptcy, now she wants to see if she can help to destroy the county as well. Electing her to county legislature would be rewarding her bad performance at the town level by promoting her from a $10K a year job to a $20K a year job at the county level. She doesn't deserve to be promoted. She deserves to be fired.

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  10. East Greenbush is a really nice town. All we need is a town board that cares less about stealing money from taxpayers to give to family and friends - that's you O'Brien, Mangold and Malone and more about simply doing what is right.

    Is that you DiMartino and Matters?

    If it is please tell us why that might be a true statement. If you can help us understand your platform, goals and plans you will receive a huge level of support and will win easily.

    Follow the DeFruscio method of politics and campaigning and leave the camapign to a war between two equally corrupt political machines and your winning is a toss up.

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  11. Mary Ann and Deb state they want to help Supervisor Langley restore the Town's finances. Supervisor Langley has publicly said he wants a tax increase; is that what Mary Ann Matters and Deb DiMartino suggest? If so, why are they not suggesting the taxpayers stolen money is recouped and suggesting a resolution to recoup the funds? Why are they not suggesting CUTS rather than raising our taxes in order to restore the Town's finances? The taxpayers have been bamboozled ENOUGH in this Town! We should not have a to pay even higher taxes when we were not the ones that caused the financial mess! Stop screwing with the taxpayers and if Mary Ann & Deb are going along with Keith than why should I cast a vote for them? I want to hear, from Mary Ann & Deb, where they stand on our taxes and if they are simply planning to be be "yes women" for Langley than how are they going to turn our finances around? They should write their thoughts in the Advertiser so we can make an informed decision. Same goes for Botillo and Vallee---where do they stand on our taxes? All 4 of them need to speak for themselves!

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    1. Yes, Anonymus at 9:42 a.m., you are right on! Keep your eyes on the Advertiser and on information you will be getting in the mail in the coming weeks. The candidates positions will be there for you. Generally speaking, candidates don't campaign on blogs. No time. They work all day, campaign in the evening, and take care of their homes and families as well. Wow, tiring day! I will say that it can't hurt to change it up and give a different party a try. I mean, how can anyone do worse than the current majority? We can only stay static or do better. My vote is for doing better. My vote is for DiMartino and Matters. Thanks for the post. It was helpful.

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  12. 10:36---Candidates are not expected to campaign on blogs. They are expected to voice their positions. Keith Langley, Town Supervisor, wants to raise taxes. Mary Ann, Deb, Mike or Cheryl should make it known what they intend to do. We can do worse. We can hire MORE people on the Town payroll. Union contracts are up next year, so YES, we CAN do worse depending on what our Town Board members agree to with those contracts. Even more reason we need to hear from the 4 candidates what their individual intentions are. A debate may not be a bad idea but at the very least they need to stop making word salads and state, in plain language, where they stand on taxes, contract benefits, Town payroll, nepotism....and that's just the beginning.

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    1. Candidates are voicing their positions on the campaign trail to the voters who wish to listen and engage. Many voters just take the material, say thanks, and close the door. Many also are very interactive, ask questions, and want very much to listen. Of course, there will also be a large amount of information coming to voters via mailings and the Advertiser. I agree, we can do worse if the right candidates are not elected. You are 100% correct about that. "Word salads" (I like that expression) are the order of the day so as to not alienate anyone before the election. It seems to me that voting is like ordering food in a restaurant. You place your order and hope for the best. The difference is that if you get a bad politician, you can't send him or her back and ask for a full refund or order something else. Wish we could!

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  13. Dear 10:36 AM,
    Thanks for your post. Unfortunately, for those of us who are enrolled in the so called minor parties, primary day is next Tuesday, September the 10th. It would be nice if we could receive the candidates information prior to that date so we would be able to make an informed decision at the polls.
    Your post was helpful as well.

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    1. The candidates are in the process now of visiting the homes of voters enrolled in the minor parties. It's tough catching people home, especially on Labor Day weekend. Also, understandably, many people don't open their doors to unexpected visitors but, thankfully, many people do. Hopefully, the candidates will find you home and able to receive a visit when they arrive. Also, the Advertiser will be chock full of information this Thursday.

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  14. I am a registered member of a minority party. I was approached by a Republican Party operative and asked to sign their petitions. This is back before Mary Ann Matters became a candidate by th way. I told that operative I did not know either of the then candidates and would not sign a petition supporting people I did not know.

    I was told the candidates would return to my house and, further, that they would answer my questions.

    NEWS FLASH - the two then Republican Party candides never showed up.

    So, I asked the party operative why and I got told they would be back during the campaign.

    There is a clear pattern here that I desperately hope gets stopped and that pattern is the candidates (both parties by the way) going just for name recognition and not for standing for anything or meaning anything, or planning to do anything.

    So, Ms. DiMartino and Matters - develop your platform and share with us what planks around making town government more responsive, more effective, lowering our ridiculous taxes and all that. That's called earning our votes.

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  15. @ 10:36 AM Generally speaking candidates do campaign on the internet! Candidates, sitting politicians, and even the Pope have web sites, tweet and create a facebook presence. Blogs are here to stay and are a powerful tool in our society.

    One of the most troubling problems in our government is the total lack of technology including the antiquated unresponsive web site and useless accounting software.

    Folks, please look at comments above. I think we might be seeing a pattern. The candidates from both sides are going to households that are "friendly" and asking the "easy hits" for their votes. Politicians call this "the pull": visiting or pressuring their side to get out on primary day and avoiding people who might ask questions, known as "problems". In the end the political leaders are not forming policy, they are comparing "pull operations". Pathetic.

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  16. Dear Gadfly,
    I will voting for the candidates Supervisor Keith Langley supports in the upcoming Town Board election. We just need to trust Mr. Langley will support the best candidates for the Town.
    After all, Mr. Langley has written a letter that was published in the Advertiser and is posted here. That's all I need to know to cast my vote.
    Thank you for putting Mr. Langley's well written letter on your blog.
    I'm sure he appreciates your support.

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  17. 6:07 PM

    While your points are well taken it is the ignorance and apathy of 95% of the town's voters than enable both political party machines to operate the way they do.

    When voters don't care enough to educate themselves, when people just vote a party line - or worse when people do not vote at all politcians become arrogant and believe they can get away with anything.

    Tremendous inroads have been made in our town. With this blog, people using FOILs, attending meetings, asking questions and other things politicians in our town are a bit more accountable than in prior years.

    That's how the outrageous practice of giving each other stipends got stopped. That's how the former supervisor got voted out of office. That's how Bruen and the town's accounting books got audited by the OSC.

    Can more be accomplished? You bet. But it all starts with educated voters caring enough.

    Are you who are reading this an educated voter who cares about our town? I sure hope so.

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  18. 10:27 AM

    Good post.

    And that's how the current supervisor was forced to pay back his illegal sick leave incentive dollars last year.

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  19. Anonymous at 11:41 AM.....I think you've overstepped a bit on this one. It was the OSC who disclosed that the sick-leave incentive and longevity paid to elected officials was illegal, and reported such in the report issued at the end of last year. I just got a note from Supervisor Langley explaining the process which he went through after the OSC disclosure. I've quoted it below. (If it needs confirmation, check with Jim and Megan.):

    "At the beginning of last year when I received a check for $250.00 for sick leave incentive I immediately went to Jim Breig and ask him if I was entitled to it. He told me yes. I received two additional checks subsequent to that and asked Jim Breig the same question on both occasions and he responded yes. When the OSC audit results came in it was realized that elected officials were not entitled to sick leave. I then went to Meagan Hart and instructed her to adjust my paycheck so as not to exceed my stated annual salary of $70,000. That was done. I was not forced to do so by anyone. To allow this anonymous blogger to continue is not right.

    Respectfully,
    Keith"

    Since the practice was going on for a while, it seems clear that there was not a whole lot of checking around here as to the content of the applicable law. That applies to this issue and a bunch of other stuff too. Frankly, I thought that was what we had a Town Attorney on staff for. But his status was cited in the report too. Go figure.


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  20. Dear Gadfly 5:04 PM:

    As you might recall, Mr. Langley did try to recoup the loss of the illegal sick leave incentive dollars by proposing to raise his Supervisor salary to $71,000 from $70,000. He only dropped that proposal after citizen scrutiny and public discussion.
    If this needs confirmation, please check with Jim.

    Other than that, it's encouraging Supervisor Langley is finally beginning to enter the public conversation.

    Maybe the Gadfly is beginning to make some headway!!

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    1. Publius..Where is it documented that the Supervisor proposed his salary be increased to $71,000?

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    2. Dear Anonymous 7:38 PM:
      Here are two cites:
      1. Resolution 165-2012, considered at the November 14, 2012 Town Board Meeting entitled: "Schedule a Public Hearing to Enact a Local Law to adjust the salaries of elected officials for 2012."
      2. Friday, November 16, 2012 Time Union Blog written by Deputy Supervisor Ed Gilbert, entitled "Sooooo Tired."

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  21. The Sword of the Lord and of GideonSeptember 4, 2013 at 6:59 PM

    I wouldn't be surprised if the Supervisor's (and his candidate's) biggest vulnerability in this campaign is the Chairman. He and his history are the things that the Dems are running against. He and his old cronies are the one connection to the politics and governing of the past which the Town needs to loose. Think we could do something new here?

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    1. That same stigma may be a problem for the Democrat candidates. Malone doesn't seem to have much support from his own party either. Word on the street is Kim Halloran is back and picking up the pieces behind Malone. All in an effort to rebuild the old machine that bankrupt our town to begin with.
      Here's a an idea. Lets keep slamming the supervisor for a thousand dollar raise that never happened so Halloran can regain the control of yesteryears and take MILLIONS. That croud wants to get their hands on that sewer upgrade money. Who they kidding?

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  22. Let's see, Langley, after two years finally figures out the town's finances and shares that with voters. Overall that's a good thing. A little late but still a good thing.

    The Democrats in the majority finally figure out the town needs an ethics code some 2 years after the now dead as a door nail ethics board recommends a revised ethics code.

    The new ethics code will be a watered down version intended to preserve nepotism appointments like the do nothing jobs at taxpayer expense for O'Brien's husband and Malone's mother.

    That, friends and neighbors is, most definitely NOT a good thing; not at all.

    So, in terms of pandering for our votes Langley gets the nod because we (finally) have some honesty about the state of our town's finances while we have pure bullshit in terms of an ethics code from O'Brien, Mangold and Malone.

    Not great leadership from anybody but Langley has a positive edge on this election cycle's pandering for our votes - at least as I see it.

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  23. It is high time someone called out Phil Malone on some (not all by any means) of his lies to the citizens of East Greenbush.

    Law school: Phil says he attended. He means he kind of arrived and left. But the way he words his "attendance ". Is designed to give the impression he actually went to law school.

    Certainly manipulative if not an outright misrepresnetation.

    Recently he tried to lead voters to believe that the town's finances are okay. Pure undiluted bullshit and clearly intended as a deliberate misrepresntation.

    And know we have Democratic Party's hand picked Malone candidates being portrayed by Malone as "independents". More manipulative bullshit.

    Phil, people have you figured out. You have contributed nothing to our town in your tenure as a town board member. Nothing at all. If I am wrong about that I openly invite your supporters to fire back with examples. By the way the public hissy fit about your mother's office being moved so she could spy on the supervisor does not count.

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  24. Dear Anonymous 8:47 AM:
    You make some excellent points. However, I must make the observation that Mr. Langley, until recently, also "tried to lead voters to believe that the town's finances are okay."
    Perhaps Mr. Malone is preparing to submit his own letter to the Advertiser stating that the Town's Finances are now stressed.
    Let's hope this is another instance of "better late, than never" by our town's "leaders."

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  25. Let me start by saying I am no fan of Phil Malone and have never voted for him and might never do so. I would like to point out that Phil is not running and that the statement above is not related to the political discussion in our town although it is unfair to Phil.

    First, attending an institution but not graduating is commonly listed on resume's as "attending".
    It tells us a lot: he has passed the GRE's, he did well enough in college to be accepted at law school, and something about law school is not a good fit for Phil. Many people might find some or all of this information to be positive.

    As far as his beliefs about the Town's finances the reporter asked for Phil's opinion and he gave his opinion. He is an elected official and could very well believe what he said is true and that saying it on the news was helpful to the Town. I disagree with what he said but will defend his right to say it. 8:47, it would be much more helpful if could articulate why you think it is bullshit so we might be persuaded.

    Mr. Botillo and Ms. Vallee are both members of the Independence Party and most people believe that this signifies independence. I am not offended by their advertisement for that reason. What is questionable to me on this matter is Mr. Langley's membership in the Independence Party while portraying himself as a Republican.

    Folks, lets try to discuss issues here and leave the name calling to Talks.

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  26. The Sword of the Lord and of GideonSeptember 8, 2013 at 10:12 PM

    Looks to me like Malone has shut down "Talks" prior to the Primary so as not to upset the fruit basket. What do you think??

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    1. Talks never brings an issue or highlights a topic of interest. It is mostly a response to the discussions here and some childish personality assaults.

      Meanwhile, I am a registered Conservative and still no word from any local candidate. The Advertiser is a nice comparison of slogans but no substance.

      Who will actually act responsibly with our tax dollars? If something doesn't happen, I'm writing in the name Don Johnson.

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  27. And Defruscio has shut down DEMands. "Great" minds think alike??

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  28. Even our public works commissioner was out campaigning for the Democrat party this weekend. Essentially campaigning for job security. Doesn't that constitute soliciting for his own personal gain? Looks like an Ethics violation by the Democrats own definition.

    Mr. VanWormer should be the first order of business for the ethics board, once the new ethics code goes into effect.

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    1. A good ethics code would prohibit the Commissioner, or any other official, from campaigning on the time that should be devoted to his professional responsibilities. It would also prohibit using the power of his office to attempt to influence any vote.

      If Mr. VanWormer is campaigning as a private citizen on his free time a good code would allow and encourage citizen participation in government.

      The work of a good Ethics Board would not include creating an "order of business". The EB would respond to citizen complaints and perhaps provide educational material on this and other issues.

      If you are correct about the proposed Ethics Law, it should not be passed.

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    2. I just read the new ethics proposal. You are incorrect in your assumption that Mr. VanWormer would be in violation for supporting the candidate(s) of his choice as a private citizen. Both the new proposal and the original proposal by the "old" Ethics Board would allow for weekend campaigning of off duty employees.

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  29. Anonymous 12:16: You raise an interesting issue - independence. Mr. Botillo and Ms. Vallee are registered Independents but will they be independent voices on the town board? I don't know the answer to that but I think in general we could use more independence on the part of all five people elected to the board. There is too much partisanship with each faction voting as a bloc on most issues. Sometimes this yields a 5-0 vote, sometimes a 3-2 vote, but Langley and Matters almost always vote together and Mangold, O'Brien and Malone do the same. If each councilperson took each issue to heart, studied the details and decided what was best for the residents of the town we would be better off. People are not elected to represent just their party but that's what seems to happen here. A candidate's registered affiliation matters less than whether they see the job as one that should further the interests of all the people in town or just the committee that nominated them.

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    1. Jack... I received a mailer from the two enrolled independence candidates asking me not to be fooled on primary day.

      I believe they are the ones trying to fool me right out of the gate. The return postage on the mailer is to the East Greenbush Democrat Committee. How can this be viewed as anything but deceptive campaign trickery?

      Bottillo and Vallee should be indentified for what they actually are. I am an independent voter and support the candidates I feel will do the best job. I must say that I am disappointed in the impression these two candidates are trying to express with the mailer, asking for my vote.

      If they are being endorsed by the Democrat Party they should not be deceptively hiding that fact for a rainy day.

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    2. Dear 6:41 PM
      Your is point is well taken and is further illustrated in the Conservative mailer on behalf of Matters and DiMartino I received. This particular mailer has East Greenbush Republican Chairman Chris DeFruscio's address of 52 Werking Road East Greenbush, NY 12061, listed as the return address in the upper left hand portion.
      Unfortunately, both Town political parties are expert at practicing "deceptive campaign trickery."

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  30. Jack maybe you should be identified for what you really are. Too bad you used to be a voice of reason

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  31. Anonymous 10:08: What is it that I really am? For one thing I don't subscribe to the mindless regurgitation that you're either for us or against us. I'm for better government in East Greenbush and I'm for whoever can deliver that. I have criticized democrats and republicans, and have praised both. The philosopher Hegel wrote that politics is rarely a fight between right and wrong but is more often a contest between partially right and partially right. I'm trying to find the right on both sides and ask why we can't put them together. Sadly, the answer is narrow partisan thinking of the kind implied in your post. What's got you confused is that I care about the issues and not the personalities (or the jobs). If you think everything is great and our town is humming right along then one thing I am for sure is different from you. We need vision and leadership and I honestly don't care where it comes from. Draw any conclusion you like about what I really am.

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    1. Jack there in lies the problem they want us to all think and feel the same, but we should be free to think and feel what we want. Last time I checked this is still a free country and we are free right? So why is it that when we express are freedom we are labeled as something different than the norm?

      I want the same thing as you good government, and I think people should be held accountable when they are not fulfilling that.

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