One thing we have learned with the casino fiasco, the illegal Plat approval, construction and sewer connections without building permits is that the political machines in this Town on both sides of the fence consider governing to be playing the "footsie fix" with the insiders and the players. The public interest be damned. In this connection, here's the letter from Thursday's Advertiser by Tina Tierney addressing part of the problem.
By the way, a bunch of us will be bringing our $50 checks for Save East Greenbush to the Library meeting on the 10th - in "honor" of Phil Malone's fundraiser at an out of state casino. The guy is just tone-deaf to his constituents.
"To the Editor,
The
residents of East Greenbush learned many hard lessons in
2014, beginning in April when the Town Board quietly passed a resolution
to support the siting a casino on a parcel of land zoned Residential
Buffer. Throughout the year the hard lessons continued when the
majority of our elected officials continued to accommodate developers
over vocal opposition from citizens. The approval of the developer's
Planned Development District allowed Residential Buffer zoning to be
changed to accommodate the proposed casino, and that PDD is still in
effect. If our home is our greatest purchase, shouldn't these
homes be protected from arbitrary zoning changes that accommodate
developers?
The hard lessons learned taught us that we cannot rely on our elected officials to represent the best interests of homeowners. We learned that we must advocate for ourselves. Citizens should not be forced to hire attorneys to assure that we are represented, or to assure that developers are required to follow zoning laws. Since the Facility Location Board failed to license the proposed casino, why hasn't the PDD application for the proposed casino been withdrawn?
Recently, the moratorium on all new sewer connections in East Greenbush has been lifted and the Waste Water Treatment Plan is fully operational. Supervisor Langley wrote in this publication, "With the order lifted, the Town has great potential for growth and development, simply put; new business, residential developments and communities can now be connected to the WTP." How can we be assured that contortions to zoning won't occur throughout our town?
On Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 7 pm, please join your neighbors at the East Greenbush library. Let's work together to advocate for our future, and plan
community-based fundraisers for legal expenses that were incurred due to
our lack of representation.
Christine Tierney, East Greenbush"
Tina Tierney has a habit of reducing seemingly complicated issues to their bare essence. I would love to see someone in authority attempt a response to the points she makes here. Maybe Supervisor Langley could forego another feeble effort to mend fences with the DPW employees he has offended and offer a substantive response to Tina's questions. The fact that the PDD application hasn't been terminated is an ongoing insult to the people of East Greenbush. But it's not surprising since the predominant characteristic of our town government for the past year is that it allowed itself to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Saratoga Casino & Raceway. If they haven't yet learned the peril in that - and Phil Malone's fundraiser at a casino proves they haven't - than maybe facing the imminent wrath of the voters will bring them to their senses. Terminate the PDD application.
ReplyDeleteCome to the Library on Tuesday night and learn more about this problem and what's being done to address it. Bring a check for Save East Greenbush in whatever amount you can afford in honor of Phil Malone's casino fundraiser. He wants to provoke us, so let's be provoked.
This is off the topic of this post (sorry) but this just in...on Wednesday, 2/11/15, at 8:30 a.m. at town hall there will be a "discussion" at the Project Review Team (PRT) meeting entitled "Long Term Water Plans for East Greenbush." Residents should try to attend to see who is leading the discussion, what will be discussed, and if the goal is to act in the best interests of the residents. Stay alert, aware, and engaged, folks. Your future in the town depends on your presence at these meetings. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMs. Tierney was right about this, "Citizens should not be forced to hire attorneys to assure that we are represented, or to assure that developers are required to follow zoning laws." It is extremely disconcerting to think that our supervisor is plotting and planning behind the scenes to satisfy his agenda for himself and the town. He doesn't appear to be a scholarly man in the respect that he seems disinterested in fully researching the pros and cons of his decisions. Being that this is an election year for him, it's even more worrisome. Who is he playing "footsie" with now to maximize his chances of keeping his job? I don't want to live feeling constantly anxious about what's coming next. Yesterday, a casino. Today, what? Will we be blindsided by another town board resolution followed by a 5-0 vote in support? Have any of the board members but presumably one learned from the lessons of the past? This all remains to be seen but know this, Supervisor Langley and board members, we, the voters, are watching.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is this, if citizens won't keep an eye on the town website and attend meetings, even in the evening when it's cold outside or they're tired from the day, then town officials will take advantage of the lack of attentiveness to accomplish things with our tax dollars that we might not like. When chairs are empty, the presumption is that people don't notice or care one way or another what happens with their tax dollars. There is an open meetings law for a reason; it's there to encourage attendance by the public and discourage the shenanigans that can happen when citizens get complacent and expect officials to look out for them anyway. Officials are not parents! They don't care about residents like parents care about their children. Residents have to watch out for themselves by attending, listening and questioning everything. Even if you don't want to speak at a meeting, come and listen. Good govt relies on citizen participation and visibility; that's why it's called "of the people, for the people, and by the people."
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't disagree with keeping an eye on town government, there may be an actual explanation for how we got to this point and why we are here.
ReplyDeleteWe are a small town, always have been and most people on both sides will agree with that. For those who are newer to the Town, East Greenbush started as basically, camps and summer get aways for people in Albany and grew. You'd escape the City to enjoy "the country".
The problem starts right there. It was a makeshift community where people kind of had a sense of government, but because, like many small towns, things were a little lax and less formal. I don't think we EVER learned how to do it right or by the book. Or maybe it started out right and just got relaxed because it's a small town.
At some point, (and unfortunately this is blamed more on democrats than republicans, but both parties are at fault for where we are), town democrats came up with a plan to manipulate the system and have democrats re-register as conservatives and/or independents, in an effort to be able to gain control of the third party lines and by extension, take control. Problem was, they were never properly trained to run things by the book, or encouraged to do so. So started the nepotism and political favoritism that plagues us today.
Once one party does something and gets away with it, there is a sense of retribution or an "our turn" mentality where the cause is forfeited for the control.
We simply need to get back to basics, follow the rules, get our house in order and ask for help from the state if we can't do it ourselves. Playtime is over. It's time to make this town truly transparent, fiscally responsible and to treat everyone, regardless of party, fairly.
The biggest problem is that people have become complacent and don't pay attention. The largest voting block in town is not registered to a party. less than half the people vote. The problem isn't totally with government, it's our own fault for giving up on them. Keep doing what you're doing, but remember, if you don't inspire people to pay attention, and blogs won't do it, you can't effect the process. The majority of voters in town, don't read this blog, many don't even have computers. If you're going to do this grass roots, you gotta go to them, they won't just come to you or read here. Just an opinion.
Not to worry, 901. there is at least one candidate who will declare for Town Board who is independent, free of party bosses and prepared to knock on doors and use the advertiser for all it is worth. stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteI think there just might be THREE who fill that bill. Thank goodness.
DeleteThat would be great jobs for Don and Dwight
ReplyDeleteI think I speak for Dwight, and I know I speak for myself.....We don't want "jobs." There are plenty of skilled, talented, experienced and intelligent citizens out there who are not beholden to a political "boss." We'll have candidates from that group to replace the machine operatives in the next election. We've had quite enough of "wink and nod political fixes" for players and insiders in our town.
DeleteMessage to Keith Langley and his band of merry fundraiser members--you may want to refrain from sending an invitation to your fundraiser to anyone who donated to the Save East Greenbush group for legal expenses. Anyone who had to chubb up for Save East Greenbush is not going to be willing to send you a check. Check your address labels next time you mail out the invitations.
ReplyDeleteHe doesn't understand why we are upset. He doesn't understand I (and many others) have no respect for him. He doesn't understand the fight we endured to save our town and our community. He doesn't understand that this was a horrendous business decision and it speaks volumes to his business decision making skills, or lack of. He doesn't understand that he allowed slimy developers to run this town and tear his town apart. He had said at the December 17th town board meeting that he felt like a punching bag once a month. That man allowed Capital View and Morgan Hook to use his residents as punching bags for more than 8 months. He allowed them to slander our community and our residents for months, and he not once stood up for HIS town. He allowed our ethics chairman to continue to speak with utter disrespect to us at town board meetings. The Times Union even shut down Gilbert's blog, but no problem another blog can be created and it was, then came the birth of the Matterss blog. The supervisor sees no problem with Mr. Gilbert signing his name to that trashy blog not once, but multiple times. He thinks we can all just be friends. I'm sorry, Mr. Supervisor, your arrogant true colors have been shown. You're incompetence is something both pro-casino anti-casino people can agree on.
DeleteWhere do the "Friends of Keith Langley" intend to deposit the small amount of campaign contributions they raise?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the NYS Board of Elections website, the Keith Langley campaign committee was terminated back in December of 2011.
Kicking off your re-election bid with an Election Law violation is not good, Mr. Langley. Not good at all.
And speaking of fundraising shenanigans... The NYS Board of Election website also show that Chris DeFruscio's East Greenbush Republican Committee is running a deficit of over 7,900 dollars according to its last fling on January, 2014. That's right folks, a deficit of SEVENTY NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS.
ReplyDeleteAnd why no filing since January of 2014? Hard working people might want to think twice before writing a check to Keith and his good friend Chris this time.
As for me, my hard earned check will be going to Save East Greenbush.
Old Timer @ 1:21 p.m.
ReplyDeleteHow does a committee run such a large deficit? Are we talking about a bank account with overdraft? Just trying to understand how the deficit happened. Also, Langley doesn't trust the repub committee to hold his campaign donations. He holds them himself, somewhere else. Probably in his own personal campaign acct called "Suckers of Keith Langley." You know what they say, there's one born every minute.
@ 3:20 PM, You ask a very good question. The Board of Elections has sent at least two letters to the Republican Committee asking for an explanation. They seem to be quite interested in getting to the bottom of this.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned...
Their Treasurer is Sean Mulvey. He's the guy to go after. He's the guy who's responsible. Good luck getting anything outta that dufus.
ReplyDeleteIs that the same Sean Mulvey who Langley had placed on the Citizens Fiscal Advisory Committee?
DeleteThey run their campaign like they run our town. They received 5,000 & spent 12,000. Excellent job boys, thats how EG business has been done and why we're in the debt we're in.http://www.elections.ny.gov:8080/plsql_browser/efs_summary_page?comid_in=C24658&rdate_in=15-JAN-2014&reportid_in=J&eyear_in=2014
ReplyDelete12:09 p.m. If their total expenses were over $12,600 I'd luv to know what they spent it on. Who is responsible for the $7,900 debt? I wouldn't give that committee a dime. Who knows what they're doing with the money? They're overspending on something. Maybe billboards during the last campaign?
ReplyDeleteThis is by no means an endorsement for Democrats, personally I could care which clique, I mean party someone chooses. I would question the financial management of the Republican committee who has been running a consecutive negative fund balance the same way they very been running our town while they've had the "majority."
DeleteEG Democratic Committee 2015 January 2015 Report shows a $2,833.71 closing balance, a 2014 closing of -349.51, and a January 2013 balance of $1,828.50.
EG Republican Committee 2015 periodic report does not exist. The January 2014 periodic report shows a balance of -$7,985.29, a closing balance in July 2013 of -$278.95, and closing balance in January 2012 of -$5,628.95.
The six Democrats on the Rensselaer County Legislature were left fuming Tuesday night when Chairman Martin Reid, R-Sand Lake, closed the meeting before they could speak. The Democrats have been highly critical of Reid receiving unemployment payments then being fined for taking the payments even though he was receiving his $30,000 legislative salary.
DeleteAt the County Legislature’s public forum last week, four people criticized Reid over the unemployment case.
The Democrats issued a press release immediately after the County Legislature’s meeting Tuesday night:
Rensselaer County Chairman Silences Minority Legislators to Protect Himself
Chairman Martin Reid, who is currently embroiled in a controversy over unemployment insurance fraud, denied Minority Legislators the right to speak at the regular monthly meeting of the Legislature. Against the Rules of the Rensselaer County Legislature, Mr. Reid abruptly adjourned the meeting before all “order of business” was concluded.
“Mr. Reid’s actions tonight reinforce why we are calling for his resignation immediately. We had planned to ask Mr. Reid to do the right thing and step down as Chairman,” said Legislator Len Welcome.
Reid has been under investigation by the State Department for misrepresenting his job status and improperly collecting unemployment benefits. “What galls me is the fact that he has not repaid the $15,335 which he obtained by dishonesty and deceit,” said Legislator Mark Fleming. In addition, an administrative law judge has found that Mr. Reid “willfully and intentionally misrepresented the facts” to receive benefits, and that the judge has referred the case to District Attorney Joel Abelove for possible prosecution.
“I have heard from numerous constituents who expressed outrage concerning these findings – which involve the wrongful taking of taxpayer funds and violation of the public’s trust,” stated Minority Legislator Cindy Doran.
“I believe Chairman Reid’s continuing leadership of the Rensselaer County Legislature is inappropriate and that it will distract from the important work we have been elected to do,” said Legislator Gary Pavlic.
Here's a gem for you......just heard that Save East Greenbush raised over $1,400 last night toward legal expenses in commemoration of Phil Malone's fundraising trip to the Casino in Connecticut.
ReplyDeleteAs Tina says in her Advertiser letter, citizens should not have to hire legal talent to insure that municipal officials (elected and appointed) obey the law. I think we may be on the way to fixing that ongoing problem in the next election. You're "tone deaf" Phil.
Your a scumbag Don. That's good now you only need 30,000 more for something that was decided before you even started. Guess what's coming next. Your friend Larry
ReplyDeleteDear "Larry"...... This is exactly why there will soon be a government elected in East Greenbush which does not "decide" things in secret for the benefit of insiders and players. You've done a real good job of screwing up your own agenda.
DeleteBy Larry's tone I'm going to take a guess it's the same Larry Davis who attempted to speak at the Facility Location Board's public comment session in favor of the casino. Just like Gilbert, his 5 minutes was another plus for the save East Greenbush and showed the trash we were fighting. Thank you Larry for being one of the top speakers on behalf of SEG.
DeleteI am so sick of haters. It does not matter at what level national,state or local. Hopefully the winds are changing. The next few elections will change things so progress is accomplished in our town, in our state and in our nation. As soon as the voters decide once and for all to rise up out of the mud and move forward success in a better future will happen. The mud slingers will only have themselves to hate.
DeleteDon and others; please alow me to ease your minds....the above post was NOT authored by Larry Dais. It was more likely written by E.Christopher Defruscio, Mulvey or Ed Gilbert.
DeleteNothing against either side and trying to not sound arrogant because none of this is any of my concern, but Larry Davis could care less about SEG or any of you. He has no idea who half of you are and probably never will.
My $ is on Ercole being the a** he always is !
GF @ 10:40 a.m. You're trying to reason with unreasonable people. Don't waste your time. We have to take the ship from the bad guys and make them walk the plank.
ReplyDeleteDoes drive them nuts though, doesn't it.....
DeleteYeah, I guess that's a bonus.
DeleteDear Larry- We know that you and your little developer buddies are happily conniving away and crafting your next commercial ambush on the town. Well, bully for you. It must give you great pleasure to be such a massive d*ck. Please be aware that, while you may win a couple more rounds, the first K.O. will occur next November. The residents of this town are sick of seeing devious and greedy individuals like you steamroll over local and state laws in order to ram through your illegal projects. Your blog posts are a clear indication that you're a thug. The citizens of EG are patiently waiting for November. That's when we'll rid ourselves of three TB members. That's just the beginning. Time to sweep the dirt out of our local government. Time to shut down the insiders' developer club that has been running ramshackle through our town for years.
ReplyDelete"Friends of Keith Langley" update:
ReplyDeleteAccording to the NYS Board of Elections Website the "Friends of Keith Langley" Committee has been reactivated with Town of East Greenbush Finance Director, Meaghan Hart serving as its Campaign Treasurer.
Is it ethical to have Ms. Hart, who is appointed by Supervisor Langley to serve as the Town of East Greenbush Finance Director, also serve as Candidate Langley's Campaign Treasurer?
Many would consider this dual role to be a clear appearance of impropriety on the part of Supervisor Langley. Why wouldn't Mr. Langley want to appoint a Campaign Treasurer who wasn't on the Town payroll? Couldn't he find anyone else willing and able to work on his campaign?
Not good Mr Langley, not good at all.
That man is truly unbelievable, has he heard his town is a little upset about all of the backdoor deals this town has done with the Harts and that little tid bit of having a walking conflict on the town board with Sue Hart? We already know Sue doesn't think there's a conflict, clearly our incompetent Supervisor wants to make history in EG elections with the biggest defeat before the election.
DeleteNow we can see the corruption starts at the top--with the County. Martin Reid, Chairman of the Rensselaer County Legislature, takes unemployment he is ineligible for, and he may get a "pass" by the D.A. He is still sitting as the Chairman of the Legislature, http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Martin-T-Reid-s-benefits-scrutinized-in-6024541.php. He needs to be removed as Chairman and the Legislature's minority has alot of support with their stand on this. Martin needs to go.
ReplyDeleteEmail the County Legislature's Minority Leader, Peter Grimm and let him know you agree with him, pgrimm@rensco.com. Peter Grimm can use the support for this. The corruption in our politics has to stop! We pay into unemployment insurance and to know an elected County Legislator took it when he wasn't eligible--BAD! Paying it back doesn't make it right; it makes it an admission of guilt. Martin Reid should step down or be forced off the Legislature and, at the very least, he should be removed as Chairman.
Email Peter Gimm and let him know how you feel, pgrimm@rensco.com.
Another Martin Reid, Rensselaer County Chairman article, http://blog.timesunion.com/localpolitics/16417/16417/. He needs to step down and we need to support the County Minority. Email Peter Gimm, Minority Leader, at pgrimm@rensco.com. Show Peter Grimm your support and stop the corruption at the County level.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget either that it was the Dem establishment in East Greenbush which passed out illegal Stipends, longevity and sick-leave incentive payments to elected and appointed persons in the last administration. The Office of the State Comptroller said that they should be recouped. Not done yet.
ReplyDeleteLets just wait and see what we discover these SWF fools have done after they leave.
DeleteDefruscio and company are "master thieves" and we'll all discover their theft after they've left office....unfortunately
Instead of us waiting to see anything how about we start doing? How about we stop remembering what the "dems" did or what the "republicans" have been doing. Let's focus on the individuals, better yet let's focus on us - the community. It's about what individuals are doing now and in the future. This back and forth banter is useless, it doesn't matter what box you check to declare your party. Its just that, a label.
DeleteBoth Rensselaer County and the Town of East Greenbush have proven to be corrupt and they have been run by opposing parties. Seems the County Republicans and Town Dems have one thing in common--corruption.
ReplyDeleteThere is corruption in both parties at both levels. Time for a new government free from either corrupt party structure
DeleteI have come to believe that the root of all evil is not money, it's politics.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the root of our problems in East Greenbush is politics but only because it yields people who have learned how to win elections but don't know how to govern. Once they've secured their seats and arranged for a coterie of their friends and relatives to have jobs their mission is accomplished and the random crapshoot that has passed for governing this town commences. They make it up as they go with no plan or purpose. As an example, current members of the Town Board and the Supervisor are taking bows for the wastewater treatment plant when it took more than a decade of DEC consent orders and a moratorium on development before reality hit them between the eyes and they got moving. The fact that the moratorium hindered the plans of connected developers likely had more to do with the wastewater treatment plant than the will of our elected officials. Now they have to figure out how to tell us in an election year that a $600,000 per year bill will come due in two years for that plant and plague us for the next 25-30 years. There's no question that we needed the wastewater treatment plant but the fact is that we needed it ten years ago and shouldn't have had to wait for it to be imposed on us by outside agencies.
ReplyDeleteCompletely unfair jack. I expect more from you. How could you hold the present administration culpable for the sins that came before they were even in office. Also you heard same as me that our annual cost would be significantly higher going with the bypass to Troy . Yes it will cost $600,000 a year to pay off. You expect something for nothing?
ReplyDeleteHe's actually saying the opposite, at least that's what I got from the oost...he's saying this the wastewater treatment is something that took place before they were elected. He is saying they need to the current and future administration is going to need to explain how they plan on dealing with this. We know they don't have a plan. This administration is surely to blame just as past administrations are to blame. How can our Supervisor authorize an audit when there weren't paper trails? How do numbers just disappear that they can't put an audit together while he was in office? He either didn't know about our towns finances to authorize wasting more tax payer dollars on a useless audit, or he knew about the disaster and authorized it anyways. Either way, he is surely to blame for doing nothing to formulate a plan to get out of debt, other than banking on a casino project. 5 years ago, most of these people who believed a casino could bring all of this money to our town probably understood that a casino is not the solution. But as soon as money was dangled over them with false problems, all common sense went out the window. This current administration, with exception to DiMartino and Matters who are knew and spent their first year dealing with the casino fiasco, is surely to blame. Yes, maybe they didn't put us millions of dollars into debt, but they surely did NOTHING to get us out, they just added to it.
DeleteJack you know far better then that. Everyone's not a crook everything's not illegal because people want it to be everyone is not an idiot because a blog says so. You tell me right now people in your organization are not jockeying for jobs. Your a good man but be careful what you wish for
ReplyDeleteI don't know what organization Jack belongs to, but I can assure you that those of us working with Jack and other concerned community members are not looking for jobs. What we are looking for is a town hall that is not in it for themselves or their family and friends. This town is in financial distress, much worse than people think. Look at the history of this town for the last 3 decades. You will see the same names (Hart, Maney, Malone to name a few) have circulated family members and friends over these last three decades. This is not an accusation, this is a fact. Come to meetings when "new" people are appointed to positions, they are either related, friends or someone who has been apart of the history in town hall.
DeleteThis town has been run in the ground by EVERY administration. It is time for people who at least paid attention in business 101. The EG way can no longer be the way. It is time to clean house in town hall. That can only be done by a truly independent group of people who could care less about who is a republican or democrat. You can not deny, Jack is one of these men. You really think he'd rather be involved with our town's mess than enjoy retirement? He is sacrificing his sanity and peace by attempting to truly save our town. If you don't see that, that is you right.
Anonymous 10:57AM,
DeleteI myself agree with everything that you and Jack have said except for the fact that it not only plagues the county and town, but also plagues the state. Take a look over the last 10 or so years in this state and see how many legislative people have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. To me this is something far bigger than a town or county, but we can make a difference in our town. In other words someone like myself supported certain people in the last town election and they seem to be just as bad or maybe even worse than the people they replaced. I don't care at this point if they are Rep or Dems, all I want is someone that will be fair and just. Unfortunately even though I vote in the state elections, my vote has a bigger impact on the town elections, and politics starts at the town level.
Did the present administration campaign on the need to fix the wastewater treatment problem? Did any of them say a word upon assuming office? Go back to the historical record. It was only when one more major fine from DEC loomed that they woke up. Once again, I stand by every word I wrote. When the current administration sold us the plant they said it would be paid back with a 0.5% interest rate. Turns out that was the bridge loan for the construction and for the next 25-30 years we'll be paying a 1.8% interest rate. No, I don't expect something for nothing. I also don't expect something to cost three times what the current administration promised. Sorry Chris, I expect more from you too.
ReplyDeleteLol! That's not Chris, Jack. He wishes. It's clearly Eddie G., our illustrious chairman of the Ethics Board blogging once again from the shadows per Keith's instructions. But, in the words of Tom, the Elder, "God bless, Ed Gilbert!" Barf!
DeleteI'm not informed enough to understand if the $600,000 annual cost is unavoidable or another bad decision by the TB so I can't comment on this.
ReplyDeleteWhat does bothers me about the wastewater treatment plant is that our former TB decided that it was better to continue dumping sewage into the Hudson River and pay the penalty rather than move forward with the inevitable-- rebuild the facility. How much money was wasted paying the fees? What was the damage to the Hudson River, as a result? How much more did the new facility cost the citizens due to increased construction and cpi costs?
Such ignorant management of our town seems to span the last several regimes. McCabe owns the waste water treatment debacle. Langley owns the casino debacle.
Was Langley involved in the repayment structure for the wastewater treatment plant? I'm hoping that someone on this blog can give an overview of this topic. I believe that most people (like me) don't really understand the timeline or the issues.
Let me be clear about my position on the wastewater treatment plant. It had to be done but it should have been done long ago when costs were lower. That isn't the fault of the current administration. But before we blame the "previous administration' let's be clear who we're talking about. It was a democratic majority that drove the decision for this project. The Supervisor and Councilperson Rick Matters played important roles in the decision but they were in the minority. It was a good process and the entire board made the right decision. All credit to them for that. But it wasn't done because of visionary leaders who saw a problem and moved forcefully to solve it. It was done after the town was humiliated by the revelation that we had been dumping waste into the Hudson and paying DEC fines for a decade or more. And now we face the prohibitively expensive issue of repayment. Hard choices must be made but will we hear about them from politicians on the campaign trail? Or will we get more flowery "open government, fiscal responsibility" rhetoric from people who have consistently failed to deliver either? It's time we had leaders who lead from the front and don't back themselves into corners that allow oversight agencies or casino developers to call the shots for our town.
ReplyDeleteAt last night's pre-board meeting it appeared that the court of public opinion on the subject of Ed Gilbert has changed in his favor. The residents who spoke during the comment period were singing Mr. Gilbert's praises for his sudden change of heart and dedication to the virtues of ethics in our town, and even to his sudden willingness to publicly apologize for the verbal grenades he previously threw at the idea of allowing residents to file complaints. Mind you, this is the Ed Gilbert who stated at a board meeting, "there's nothing I can learn from you people [the residents] that I can't learn from a consultant," so, in effect, sit down and shut up. It bears mentioning at this time that just as Mr. Langley is taming his tongue and clipping his talons for re-election, Mr. Gilbert, under the meaty thumb of Mr. Langley, is doing the same. Don't think that the gentlemen you are experiencing now will be the same gentlemen on Nov 4 if Mr. Langley wins re-election. It is certain that on 11/4 the tongue will be loosed and the talons will be allowed to start growing out again. Be fooled by them this year if it makes you feel hopeful, sing their praises to the heavens if you wish, but, if you do nothing else, remember the old adage "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
ReplyDelete@ 1:47 PM- Langley isn't doing a good job at taming his tongue. Just last night at the preboard meeting he frequently interrupted Jack Conway during the public comment period. That's not taming a tongue that's just rude behavior on the part of Supervisor Langley. Thankfully we won't have to put up with his rudeness after election day.
DeleteNo Langley in 2015!
The first time the ethics law moved it was Rick Matters sponsoring, Keith Langley equivocating and O'Brien/Mangold/Malone having the election year epiphany. Then it got stalled and here we are with MAM sponsoring this election with Keith still befuddled and Ed Gilbert having an election year epiphany. It proves the point above: the dems and the repubs both think these election year tricks will fool the electorate..Well, this year the electorate has a surprise in store for them. Stay tuned,
ReplyDeleteDear Gadfly:
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, my take on Mr. Gilbert and all the other reform late comers for that matter, is that when they make (admittedly, in my opinion) "good" decisions for whatever reasons, they should be commended for them. Essentially, that's what I believe government is all about. Governmental officials are supposed to work hard to keep the general public informed, engaged and involved in order to promote good governmental actions by the elected and appointed representatives.
Personalities must take a back seat to good governmental policies.
During my governmental and mediation careers, I have often been astounded and pleasantly surprised by how people of various temperaments and backgrounds are able to join together (again, for whatever reasons) in order to enact and implement Laws, Resolutions, Regulations, etc. that benefit the public good.
I'm not being naive here. All governments (including ours in East Greenbush) need to be transparent and monitored very, very closely by the people they are elected and appointed to represent. It is no accident that the current political climate in East Greenbush is requiring our elected representatives to at least pay lip service to solid open government measures. Unlike a couple of the recent anonymous posters on the Gadfly, I'm not worried about goodhearted people being mislead by sudden cosmetic changes in behavior by certain Town officials.
I'm all in for advocating for the passage of good government Resolutions and other measures at every opportunity, regardless of who sponsors them.
Be well,
Tom
Right on Tom. I'm not misled at all. You are right on point.
ReplyDeleteNot right on, Tom. Langley and Gilbert are frauds who are taking every opportunity to mislead and manipulate the public, who they repeatedly abused and disregarded last year, because it's an election year. Essentially, they're trying to humanize themselves to get Langley re-elected but never forget how they treated residents last year during the EG casino crisis. The board members, led by Langley, were like zombies while people begged and pleaded with them for 8 long months to see reason. And then Gilbert got up and added insult to injury every time by speaking. Remember his unforgettable comment on May 15th (the day of the second casino vote), "You [SEG] people disgust me!" Every word out of his obnoxious mouth last year was offensive and incorrect; he has yet to apologize for that or for the blog that he used to barf on the community last year. Now, suddenly he's calmed down and acting professional? No, sir, the REAL Langley and Gilbert are the callous jerks we experienced last year. Don't forget that! Tom, I don't like your patronizing pats on the head when people do what you think is right and good. It's like you're saying bravo, you simpleton, for figuring it out and getting it right for a change. If you did that to me, I'd say stuff it, I don't need your critique of my behavior. Who made you an authority on what's right and good? If you like a politician's actions, then vote for him, don't publicly patronize him. It comes across as sarcastic, disingenuous, and passive aggressive.
ReplyDeleteHere's the thing folks. If anybody believes that any positive steps that Langley, Gilbert or Malone now take are due to do a belief in good government they have either been on vacation for at least 4 years, delusional or completely naive. Please don't be fooled people. This is campaign BS at its best. You don't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear overnight. And some people are just wolves in sheep's clothing.
DeleteAnonymous 5:54
DeleteI think your comments are spot on. You might be a little overzealous in your last coule sentences, but for the most part I agree. The citizens deserve and should expect good professional behavior from elected officials; and what we've experienced in 2014 was the anthesis of respectful, honest, transparent, competent, professional behaviors from our town officials. So Tom, perhaps in the spirit of acknowledgement you might alter your gratitude a bit in the form of "...I appreciate your [respectful, collaborative; inclusive ....whatever.... ] vs. what seems at times a little over the top. Tom you have always made good points, and I want to keep hearing them. The bottom line is these inscrutable corrupt incumbents must be held accountable for their mismanagement, disrespect, incompetence and reprehensible acts, alliances, actions, words, deeds, and behaviors.
8:32 p.m. Thank you! from 5:54 p.m.
DeleteDear 5:54 PM:
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. I've always felt feedback, both positive or negative is helpful, particularly for elected officials who oftentimes run the risk of governing in a vacuum.
I appreciate your critique of my comments and hope you have a nice evening.
All the best,
Tom
To anonymOusFebruary 13, 2015 4:45 PM on Talks......Please remember that it was the Dems AND Reps behind the Casino fiasco, the illegal Plat, the illegal sewer connection and construction without a building permit. They're all in it together and political label has nothing to do with the primary agenda of self-enrichment. They enable each-other. Martin Reid took unemployment. The local Dems put a former Planning Board Chair on the Town's medical plan. The list is almost endless on both sides of the fence. They focus on that stuff at the expense of really getting at the problems which need to be solved - like the treatment plan problems which Jack cites.
ReplyDeleteGadfly, your right. Ask Langley who brought him the April Resolution on the Casino.
DeleteNow that the moratorium on sewer hookups has been lifted, the town will be eager to bring in new commercial development. This is not a bad thing per se but residents should be more attentive than ever to the items on Planning, Zoning and Project Review Team (PRT) meeting agendas. At the PRT meeting this week, there was an agenda item called "Discussion on Future Water Plans for EG." Granted, the meeting was held at 8:30 a.m. on a work day but I was the only resident (retired) who attended the meeting. CP MAM was also there but she was the only board member except Supr. Langley who attended the meeting. Hopefully, she will give a report of what happened at the next board meeting on 2/18 as it was an interesting discussion that lasted an hour. The real point is that such a compelling subject as future water plans for EG should probably have drawn a bigger crowd of curious onlookers. Remember, the fox is always watching the hen house for an opportunity to have chicken for dinner. If the casino experience taught us anything, it taught us that we must be hyper-vigilant, take an interest, and always be attentive to what's going on at town meetings.
ReplyDeleteYes the moratorium has been lifted, but before it was there was certain places being built that were hooked up even with the moratorium in place, for instance like the 1 cooper ave project. Which btw was cancelled from being on the last zoning board meeting because now get this Hart needed to get a lawyer. Now my question is if he did nothing wrong why is he compelled to get a lawyer?
DeleteIt's time for the connected, the players and the insiders to see some real consequences for their skirting of the law. Isn't a building permit an actual contract between the municipality and the builder? Isn't the Building Inspector supposed to make sure the contract is fulfilled by the builder on behalf of the Town? What ended up at 1 Cooper Ave. sure isn't what is on that original building permit, is it. And then there is the sewer problem. That's not something that happens without some folks in authority knowing about it and even authorizing it. What say Supe?? Buck stops in the corner office on this one, and it illustrates how much in bed with each other the two machines are. And you don't even have to consider the casino fiasco.
Delete12:15 you're absolutely correct about watching for innocuous-looking items inserted on agendas...especially for low-attendance meetings. This is a chess game. EG board members vs. the citizens. Sad but true.
ReplyDeleteI might be in the minority but I, for one, don't want our town to become much more commercial. I want to live in a residential community with open space and wildlife; not commercial enterprises with trucks and blacktop all around. I support re-development of Columbia Turnpike and other abandoned businesses but not NEW development like Fed Ex and Walmart.
This once was a quaint little town. With vision, I think that we can elevate the feel of our town instead of handing over our precious (and dwindling) open spaces to any company that comes along. Traffic is already a big issue in this town. Do we want to increase traffic even more?
I believe that the answer is better fiscal management. I'm guessing that our current tax dollars actually cover our town's expenses and obligations. Hopefully our tax dollars will cover the $600k annual payments for the waste treatment facility, as well. Of course I'm only guessing because we have no accounting tool to give us this information.
Correct 10:20 a.m. we have no "accounting tool" except for our comptroller who just keeps telling us he's getting there, he's working on it, etc. When do we actually get to see the results of his work? He has been criticized by auditors for having outdated, insufficient accounting software to do the job and they recommended that he get it updated. However, at the Nov 18, 2014 special meeting with the auditors, Mr. Phillips stated that "we really haven't earned the privilege of buying a software package and you don't want to buy something and put it on a shelf. We really need to learn our transactions and define them clearly." Well, when is that going to happen? How much longer do we have to wait? And how can we even discuss raising taxes or fees until our comptroller tells us the state of the towns finances and starts using software that can produce the reports to back up his claims? C'mon, George, you've been here for 14 months. Inquiring minds want to know.
ReplyDeleteThe funny part of the town not having any idea of its financial position is that the Supervisor is telling people that we're really better off than we were before he took over. It's like when the board declared that we needed a casino to fill a revenue gap of undetermined magnitude. Statements like these have no basis in reality.and are irresponsible in the extreme. But when you have no internal controls this is what happens. Stumbling in the dark isn't a smart way forward but it's clearly the current 'management' style on display in Town Hall. The rationale for giving the Supervisor a majority was that the Democrats had created a mess and things couldn't get worse under a new regime. I guess it never occurred to people that it might not get any better either. Every advance in governing made over the last few years has been the result of resident activism. And, despite the pipe dream of the person on Talks who claims he knew we weren't ever in contention for.a casino, it was resident activism that determined the outcome of that issue as well. The message is clear: this government can only be reformed from without. If the parties insist on recycling the same politicians and the same vacant promises again this year, the Only Way Forward is for residents to mobilize and take back their government.
ReplyDeleteRight on target Jack. The Town has audit reports from the State Comptroller going back to when Carl McCall was Comptroller which have cited internal controls to be addressed - but no action whatsoever from any administration. I don't think any OSC recommendations have been implemented over the years. It's a history of total irresponsibility from both machines. They're lucky the FBI hasn't been in here like they were in Halfmoon.
DeleteThe Town and the County BOTH need cleaning up.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-opinion/article/Editorial-DA-s-conflicting-interests-6086350.php
The news of the day is that neither CP Matters nor CP DiMartino attended the Langley fundraiser last night. Looks like the Smart Way Forward is now the Lonely Way Forward for Keith. This time last year he had it made in the shade but he blew it. He and sidekick DeF thought the "girls" would be so easy to manage but this is America, Keith, not Iran! Get with the times, man!
ReplyDeleteKudos to Matters tonight for having the guts to hold Langley and Mangold accountable for their hand-holding to keep Gilbert on the ethics board. Say what you will about her but Matter's is the only one up there on the high and mighty bench that has the guts to say what we're all thinking. I wrote it down when she said the only thing Mangold fears more than financial disclosure is an ethics board. Priceless! Does anyone disagree with that? And Mangold's brilliant response to Matters was, "You're delusional." Yeah, you're delusional, Sue "HART" Mangold, if you think that any of us has forgotten how you joined in the fun last year to ram a casino down our throats when you should NOT have been voting at all! Real ethical behavior, huh? Now, you're taking exception to Matters call that you're joining up with Langley to keep the "pitch man" in place to protect you from answering for your unethical behavior? That guy has made such a fool of himself in public, it's embarrassing to watch. There wasn't one thing that Matters said tonight that wasn't true. You might not like the way she delivered the message but at least she delivered it. She's the only one who truly reports on anything substantial besides bake sales and ribbon cuttings. Do you hear any of the rest of them talking about the things she talks about. Mangold and Langley had it coming tonight. Keep it up, MA. That's why I voted for you.
ReplyDelete@ 10;37 PM-
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately Ms. Matters stepped on her message by her offensive tone towards fellow board members. If she truly wants to be an effective message carrier for reform she will need to learn how to deliver her points in a respectful and not a C. Def or Ed G. like manner.
She still has a ways to go, but I'm confident her presentation will improve.
Much of this poor behavior would not be on display if Langley had any idea how to run a meeting. He has had since November of 2011 to familiarize himself with Roberts Rules and he has failed on this important aspect of his job. No Langley in 2016!
ReplyDeleteMaybe some people were not happy with the tone of Ms. Matters but the content of her message was accurate and to the point. Ms. Matters had the guts to say it to Langley's face not behind his back.I'd be willing to bet Langley and crew had plenty of negative things to say about Ms' Matters in Langley's office after the meeting behind her back.
ReplyDeleteTo 9:55 AM, While I usually agree with much of what CP Matters has to say, her behavior at last night's TB meeting reflected badly on the points she was attempting to make. Elected officials conduct must be held to a higher standard because the taxpayers are paying their salaries. If she is able to tone it down a bit, she would be more effective. Personal attacks seldom, if ever, result in concrete achievements. Keith Langley's lackluster record is a prime example of this.
ReplyDeleteNo Langley in 2015!!!
"The Rensselaer County Civil Service Commission has given the town until the end of the month to turn over information on its employees so the commission can approve salaries, qualifications and job titles."
ReplyDeleteOh my !
There is NOTHING difficult or complicated about a functioning accounting system and internal controls. Nothing.
ReplyDeleteDouble entry bookkeeping is as old as dirt. Internal controls are simple and straightforward.
I am nit a conspiracy theorist but I wonder every day what is stopping the town from implementing the now years old recommendations of the OSC?
We spend our tax dollars to send town officials every year to the Association of Towns educational programs in NYC. Do they even actually attend? And, if so, have they learned a damn thing?
Let's get to a central point that MAM was making on Wednesday night. I think some of what she was revealing should cause some real indignation on the part of citizens. She reported that PB Chair Polsinello had revealed that a resolution to extend the Thompson Hill PDD by mutual consent had been drafted, but that when she asked for a copy, she was refused access to it. What the hell is going on here? An appointed political hack is telling the elected official that who has fiduciary responsibility for the actions of the Town that she has no right of access to a document related to a potential Town action? It's time to put a stop to the "tail" wagging the "dog." This is exactly the kind of thing that allows 1 Cooper Avenue to happen.
ReplyDeleteMr. Polsinello probably didn't expect MAM to reveal to the public that he "denied" her something she asked for. By doing so, he just got the SEG brigade fired up again. What are they hiding now? Why won't he give her what she asked for? How can she represent her constituency if she cant get information? Is this going to be another ambush? Have they learned nothing from the first go round? To the SEG folks, I say, mount up! It's back to the board room we go!
ReplyDeleteMaybe MAM should contact the TU about this.
ReplyDeleteStop harping on MAM's "tone" and focus on her message. That's a trick people use to shut women up. No one ever complains about a man's tone. She gave us a ton of information that night. Malone had NO comments. Mangold bitched about how offended she was and called MAM "delusional." Was that professional, Sue? Deb DiMartino is making an effort to break her chains and be more outspoken. Looks like MAM is rubbing off on her! She even slammed Langley about not mentioning the DPW Commr's name when he commended the work of the DPW in his supervisor's report. You go, girl! There's not a damn thing he can do to stop you. Forget about tone. Be grateful we have someone on the board who's fighting for us and keeping us informed! Geez!
ReplyDeleteDear Gadfly:
ReplyDeleteWill it be much longer before Supervisor Langley pulls out his patented "The Resolution is the Resolution" comment?
Mr. Langley should show some leadership by supporting Councilperson Matters getting the information she is entitled to as an elected representative!
Be well,
Tom
It's clear that they fear her propensity to share information. That proves that they're trying to hide something. Otherwise, they would share it themselves. MAM needs to go to the "Matt" on this one. Sorry, I couldn't resist.
ReplyDeleteTo 10:48 a.m. Right on! Under the circumstances with this Supervisor and these boards, in general, do we want MAM to fight or be polite? I say fight. If she goes all polite on us, we'll never hear anything again until it happens. By then, it's too late.
C'mon, folks, we just know intuitively that the wheels are in motion for another project on that hill. Langley will claim like the last time that he's heard nothing and knows nothing about it. Then, suddenly, like a true politician, he'll spring into action. But, like the Sting lyrics say, Mr Langley, every move you make, every vow you break, every smile you fake, every claim you stake, we'll be watching you!
ReplyDeleteWhat's coming to light as the history of the casino fiasco becomes known is that the Planning Board (at least some) were in on it long before some elected Board members were. And then it was sprung at the last minute by the players. Fool me once? Fool me twice?? Not gonna happen.
ReplyDeleteDear 127. Yes it will. Your a fool
ReplyDeleteYou're is the contraction of the two words, you and are. It is also the word you wanted here. Your denotes the possessive, as in belonging to. Lots of nerve calling someone else a fool when you have no command of the English language.
DeleteThanks Anony......but as a point of interest, I've often used the confusion which you have pointed out to distinguish between contributors. Reading this stuff enough gives one a sense of whose "style" is being betrayed. There are a couple who are consistent "give-aways."
DeleteDear 10:57 AM (Chris?):
ReplyDeleteThere you are.
Fortunately people like 10:57 will be neutered in November.
ReplyDelete1:27 You said, "Fool me once? Fool me twice?? Not gonna happen," and 10:57 replied, "Yes it will. Your a fool." So, it begs the question, yes, what will? People will be "fooled again" into voting for Keith Langley? Firstly, that's not a very flattering portrayal of Mr. Langley or of his supporters but, secondly, just how foolish does 10:57 think people are? Does s/he think that EG residents who vote are saps and sheep who will just sweep bad actors back into office? Especially after the casino war, which, by the way, isn't over until the hill is safe and secure, people are back to looking for viable candidates who will do better than Mr. Langley has done since being blessed with the majority last year. It has not gone unnoticed that neither Ms. Matters nor Ms. DiMartino attended the Langley fundraiser this month. This is a mega-serious indictment of the kind of job Mr. Langley is doing and it proves that he doesn't play well with others. Mr. Langley also lost yet another secretary this year who literally scribbled her resignation on a piece of paper, tossed it at him, and walked away leaving him high and dry. How bad do you have to be, not only as a boss but as a human being, to get someone to walk off the job like that? Quite obviously, Keith Langley and women don't mix. We need someone in that job who can work with men and women alike and respect them for their contributions to the job. So the only fool, 10:57, is you for underestimating the electorate in EG. Come November, you will see that no one likes to be fooled twice.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought Ms. Matters and Mr. Langley were just like oil and water and couldn't get along. Sometimes that happens. But then other news surfaces. Langley has failed now with two (female) secretaries and one of them sued and now yet another (female) member of his so-called majority avoided his fundraiser. These are big deals, not little ones. He is now seeking re-election but a man who can't work respectfully and congenially with women puts the entire workforce at risk for being seriously understaffed. Like it or not, women are a fact of life in the workforce today. A man who can't get along with women in the workplace is a very contentious man.
ReplyDelete9:41 a.m. A lot of people seem to think that he can't get along with anyone, not just women. He's so entrenched in backroom politics, just like Rick McCabe was, that he can't focus long enough on the business of the town to get anything significant done. Ironically, the one thing he was able to focus on, the casino project, will ultimately be his undoing.
DeleteLangley's loss of MAM is the town's gain. She had a rocky start largely due to a misunderstanding but it looks like she gets it now that she works for the electorate, who pays her salary, not for Keith Langley. There is no telling what will be coming from her down the road but it's well worth the wait to find out.
ReplyDeleteNO LANGLEY 2016!