Hey, Tom. If it can't be Eileen, we're glad it's you. It's easy to see that you have a passion for politics done right. Mr. Langley could learn a thing or 22 from you. You are smart and a gentleman. You have my vote.
Not to be a total downer but let's just pray that enough people are paying close enough attention to the deficiencies and failures of our so-called local government representatives to even care about your nominating petitions. Many people could not give you the name of even one town official. Those people are hard to convince of a problem. It's not quick and it's not easy, it's campaign season and a lot of people want nothing to do with it. Remember, signing a casiNO petition does not guarantee a signature on a nominating petition. Just hope you don't find that out too late. JACK/TINA/TOM 2015!
I believe that there is a different kind of "constituency" out there now in our Town. It's made up of Reps and Dems AND citizens who have really not been politically active in the past. This constituency was awakened by the conspiracy between the insiders of the major parties to pull off the casino fiasco. There has been unrest about the incompetence of the current and previous administrations, but no real alternative had surfaced. All that has changed now. There is actually a chance to drain the swamp, and a bunch of new people want to help do it.
People keep kindly warning that just because someone was anti casino this doesn't necessarily mean they'll vote for EG1st. But no where can I find in their campaign this being about a casino, other than the fact this group met through the casino fiasco. The casino woke people up and got people talking.
People also keep warning that 3rd parties don't win. This may be statistically somewhat correct, but ot impossible. Times have changed, with the world of social media news and information travel faster than ever before. Times have also changed in EG. If you want EG1st to win, get talking and sharing information!
4:47 p.m. You're correct, it's no longer about casino, now it's about politics and many of the same people who were passionate about defeating a casino in EG, don't involve themselves with politics and campaigns for office. But I'll lay down my sword on this one. Time will make my point better than I ever could. Just wish you were going after a major and a minor party line. Now, I'll be quiet. JACK/TINA/TOM 2015
You certainly have a point to consider, but the problem (I think) with identifying with either major party is the real perception that one "buys in" to the traditions of mischief that each perpetrates interchangeably. Remember the classic line "that's the way it has always been done." And I heard the former Supervisor quoted as saying, "if Jack wins, we don't GET anything." Very revealing. The Dems and Reps are all about a place at the graft trough.
Petition, vote, support and appreciation. That's how our entire household of three voters feels about Jack Conway and his team. Their "It's About Time" from their web site should be read by every East Greenbush voter.
Jay GIrvin is at pre board to negotiate contracts. I hope the workers won't be fooled by hefty election year contracts and start believing Keith Langley is a nice guy. Too bad we can't hold this till after election and get a contract that is good for all.
Jay Girvin is not there to negotiate any contracts hes making decisions about daily operations that are not getting done on a daily basis because nobody can make simple questions easy, and unionized employees know the towns problems way better than you think.They live this joke everyday.
659, your so correct ! Town employees are the casualties in this mess. No one wants to acknowledge that though. Just an FYI: not one Town employee is getting rich in this town, not one ! Contrary to the myth, they have had no contract for two years. Yet amazingly, the work still gets done daily.
I can ....clearly and without malice. The only ones doing better than average are those that have been with the Town for awhile. Otherwise, they do about average for municipal workers in the Capital District.
Count on Langley/DeF to open the candy store before the election to try to save his butt. Isn't that the same kind of thing that happened with the sick leave incentive to secure the future of the previous supervisor? We'll be paying for that pensionable add-on forever.
AnonymousJune 11, 2015 at 9:15 PM---Aren't the town employees following the old contract until a new one is in place. you know, the one that grants them their BIRTHDAY off! Seriously?! Their BIRTHDAY! And the contract one that guarantees a certain amount of overtime, isn't that the one that is in place until a new one is agreed upon? You're right, no town employee is getting rich but you know what, most residents aren't either and we schlep off to work everyday without the perks the union workers get yet we have to pay for the union contracts that are negotiated. What a SHAM!
Oh boy, this may get ugly now. Let's focus on the bigger problem - those who make the decisions higher up. Union or non-union there are bad apples in every occupation, most of the town workers I've seen are hard working. From an outside perspective I see a handful of "workers"embarrassing this town on a daily basis and giving a bad rap to anyone associated, they are a couple of court attendants and Keith Langley and those he chooses to run his life and bring to town hall.
Did you know that the "birthday incentive" comes to about $170k a year paid out? And the DPW CSEA employees complain that they don't have any good vehicles or equipment. That $170k could buy a lot of decent stuff!
I am sorry, I misspoke - Sick incentive is what I meant to type. Each employee gets $250 each quarter if they don't call in sick to work. That is the $170k.
Hey genius, try again. There are 4 quarters in a year, which means every employee would get $1000 "IF" they never took a sick day. By your math, we have 170 employees. Ummm mm where?why not just look at how much was paid out? Or would that not fit your agenda?
Good morning Mr. Supervisor Langley, Are you finally beginning to realize your pipe dreams for re-election are rapidly slipping away from you? Have you been monitoring the lackluster reports from your (few) petition carriers?
If the Supervisor had begun to follow the Platform articulated in the Advertiser by Matters and DiMartino during their campaign, he'd be in a strong position now. Instead he followed DeFruscio on to the bus, and then fell for the conspiracy initiated by the Dem insiders on the casino. Toast.
It's been pretty evident for some time now that the honeymoon period between Honey Bee Keith, MA and Debbie is over yet the same failed experiment between them is now being replayed within the ranks of the republican party with Langley, Tibbits, and Lenartz. Is this yet another brainstorm from political mastermind CDeF? And why is Honey Bee still buzzing around this guy anyway? Does he never learn? Correct...he never learns. The police union contract was the last incomplete item on the June pre-board agenda. It will be interesting to see if MA and Debbie vote to pass it, but why not wait until January to see if we will have a new EG 1st supervisor and board members who will really scrutinize the contract and trim the fat? The same goes for the DPW contract. All eyes will be on the "girls" as they now have the power to keep Honey Bee from stinging us any more than he already has these past 3+ years. Also evident now is why they won't vote for a fifth board member. If they did that, they'd be as irrelevant as they were when Mangold was on the board. The town deserves five town board members but we're better protected with four until Honey Bee flys away for good at the end of the year.
I secured information some time back which indicated that the sick-leave incentive for 2007 -2010 cost the Town about $192,000. In addition, sick-leave-incentive funds paid to employees are considered “pensionable” and these amounts are reported to the retirement system as income. It is informative that this provision had "sunset" in the previous contract. The Memorandum of Agreement which added it to the 2007-2010 contract was signed on January 23, 2007, but the Town was unable to produce any documentation that the Town Board had approved the addition of the MOA to the 2007-2010 contract.
To be very clear, the 2007-2010 contract passed by the Board did not contain the sick-leave MOA. It was executed later, apparently without any Board action/approval.
Separate check or not, I believe that the amounts are reported to the state retirement system as pensionable compensation. At least that is what I was told by the Town's Finance Officer when I requested the information.
I hope EG 1st realizes that if they're elected, the micromanaging by a select and very aggressive group of residents won't stop. Then, they will discover the impossibility of pleasing everybody and the resultant wrath of the judgers thereafter. For example, candidate Conway, will you go after the stipends that were illegally taken by town employees to beef up their pensions. No? Then be prepared to be trashed for it. How about an assortment of other undercover "deals" that have benefited connected insiders for decades? Are you going to clean that up, too? No? Be prepared to be trashed for it. The deficiency report that could be written about our town could easily be 100 pages long, two-sided! It takes more than a doctorate in anthropology to deal with the political Neanderthals in our town. It takes strong knowledge of government administration but also in the dirty inner workings of small town politics that benefit the well practiced, politically connected, insider takers in this town. Langley is being played for a fool because he doesn't have the knowledge, skills and abilities mentioned above. As the GF likes to say..."he's toast" and burned toast at that. Let's just hope EG 1st candidates have very thick skins. If elected, they'll need it.
At some point, people need to move on from the stipends. It happened, it was wrong and EG1st has nothing to do with it nor has any power to change it. Nor do they or anyone else has the magical power of taking back all of the favors to the insiders, once again - it happened. The question isn't what EG1st can do about the mistakes of the past, the question is will they continue to make the same mistakes. It doesn't seem they will, but to demand they magically take back all of the mistakes of EG's past politicians is unfair.
One thing any administration can do is follow-up with the Retirement Division of the State Comptroller's office to insure that the stipends paid, the longevity and sick-leave incentive payments made to elected officials are excluded from the calculation of pensionable compensation. May not get the cash back to the Town, but citizens wouldn't have to pay the pension "benefit" on the ill-gotten gains. Further, if one of those elected officials wants to run again he/she should be honorable and return the payments to the Town without the Town having to go after them.
While I may not agree on everything that EG1st does, I will not bash them. Why, because I know that no matter what they will be doing their best to do what is right and what is fair.
In other words they will never hand out stipends, and will never be handing out made up jobs to people that have helped them. This kind of stuff is something that has been going on in this town, and just about everywhere for years now. It needs to stop. They are just the ones to stop it.
How come certain people in this town can build whatever the hell they want without a building permit? And the rest of us have to follow the law? This will be stopped!!! Just that simple.
The "aggressive group of residents" became that way because they were seriously disrespected by the current administration. Despite clear communications that residents were overwhelmingly against the actions being taken by Langley and crew, the board sat, at every meeting, with pursed lips and blank stares on their faces. The TB's dismissive attitude fueled the residents' aggression.
This new "aggressive group of residents" had the collective intelligence to know that something was afoul in our town.
If elected, Jack, Tina, and Tom have a huge job ahead of them, as there are a multitude of large-scale issues to tackle. The "aggressive group of residents" will continue their active involvement but they will have the security of knowing that, for the first time in many years, they will be listened to and respected by their TB, regardless of the decisions.
Lets not forget, if EG1st is truly independent, educated, and ethical, they can simply follow the guidance of the Department of State and NYS Town Law. Luckily MAM and Deb are educating themselves of the true way to operate a Town Government (its not rocket science and doesn't need to be magically created since its well documented in Law) and all we need is one more independent person on our Board that is "not on the take". Then simply govern for the majority of residents with educated, ethical decision making and guess what? We can right this ship and make this a true Class A Suburban Town. There are many folks living and working here that are just asking for Good Government, hopefully this becomes our year...
Truer words were never spoken than when 12:58 p.m. said "for the first time in many years, they will be listened to and respected by their TB, regardless of the decisions." That's all we can hope for when others are elected to make decisions for us. In fact, there is nothing Jack, Tina, and Tom love more than a spirited debate! This proves that they are willing to listen AND communicate, which are two extremely important qualities that Mr. Langley lacks. For two inexperienced people in the ways of secret, insider politics in EG, Deb and MA are clearly now leaning towards supporting each other and being voices for the people. For the rest of the year, I think we all have a good feeling that those two are going to keep Mr. Langley on a pitifully short leash. They seem to have returned to working together while Mr. Langley sits alone and sulks. They appear to be doing the best they can to keep the ship upright until the end of the year. The next time you see them, thank them. It can't be easy working with Mr. Wonderful.
I wouldn't be surprised if Jack became the FDR of East Greenbush......maybe "Fireside Chats" at Town Hall once a month for residents to talk about what's on their minds. It's for him to decide, but from what I know of him, it's a real possibility.
Question(s): Did not Mr. Conway urge the Town Board to make a donation to Save EG (following the Casino debacle)? Is this part of his plan as Supervisor - have town $ be transferred to EG Saves? I believe this issue should be addressed. It will be awfully difficult to even consider voting for a Dem or Rep in this town, but I'd like to know the answer to my question before I decide on a candidate.
I don't remember Jack's exact comments (he can speak for himself), but I would guess that it was a rhetorical flourish reflecting what the political insiders had really cost the citizens of this Town because of their own selfish plans. Frankly, I don't think it would be legal. But the sentiment is comforting.
I was there. I didn't take it to mean he actually wanted the town to pay the bill - but that because of the town's refusal to ascertain what the citizens wanted - the town cost the citizens thousands of dollars to make their wishes heard. Langley never heard anything. NO Langley in 2015.
We need a Board that doesn't just sit there "deadpan," ignoring the violations of the law happening right in front of their noses. Take the illegal Plat "approval" for Thompson Way signed a year ago January by the Planning Board Chair without a meeting or Resolution by the Planning Board. And then there's the illegal sewer connection for the 2 Cooper Ave. "construction." They just sit there and refuse to do their jobs to see that the laws are faithfully administered. It goes to a common practice here in EG. Just do it, and require the citizens to go to court to get the Town to follow the law. Has to stop.
6:16 p.m. Your question is valid. Mr. Conway urged the town board to donate $5,000 to Save EG to help pay for legal expenses. Public funds would never be budgeted for such a thing but I was never clear about if Jack wanted the money from the board or from each board member personally (I.e. $1,000 each) from their own personal funds. Either way, he was clearly making the statement...you board members caused this mess, now it's only right and fair for you to help pay off the legal debt we incurred to stop it.
Ridiculous!!!! seriously, to have the board members be financially responsible for the reimbursement of funds for a group who believed in a different way & assumed legal debt because of it. That was @ their own surmise not the whole towns popular vote. So, if what you are saying is that the board members should be responsible for every time a resident accrues cost relating to a belief of theirs that is not supported by the board....what?!?!?!?
If the Board had acted after due diligence, you might have a point. But there was conspiracy all over the place with the Town's elite insiders. Just ask Mr. Langley to tell you who gave him the resolution that the Board passed in April of last year. Malone said that a referendum was too expensive. Mangold's brother was one of the investors. The Board did not live up to its oath as public officers, and the "fix" was in all over the place.
Mr. Conway was justifiably angry that ordinary citizens had to hire a lawyer because the TB wouldn't do it's due diligence before inviting a gambling casino into our community. The due diligence would have included spending money to professionally SURVEY the entire town on the subject BEFORE passing two resolutions to bring it in. But that never happened and it was an unforgivable act of malfeasance on the part of Supervisor Langley. Mr. Conway's request was just to make the point that the TB members should have to share the burden for acting wholly irresponsibly. He never expected to get $5,000 from board members who have stayed true (except for one) to the idea of bringing a casino to EG without properly surveying the town FIRST. Just like with the zoning board, only one member on the TB got it right. It seems a shame that only 20% of the members on a board have the intellectual ability to get it right. For this reason alone, folks, INTELLIGENCE in a board member matters. For this reason alone, vote for intelligence. Vote for JACK, TINA, and TOM on election day, Nov 3rd or as Mr. Conway so aptly pointed out, pay the price later.
To 10:43 yesterday: I am reminded of other "aggressive groups of citizens" - The Sons of Liberty", The Freedom Marchers, and the people in the suffrage movement. It should be with great pride that aggressive citizens right the wrongs of government. Of course, our problems are on a smaller scale but this government needs to be fixed nonetheless.
Oh my gosh! It's incredulous to even think that you are serious about Jack C having asked for reimbursement for the cost of the attorney! The elite in this town turned us all upside down with that (I consider illegal) proposal for the casino, and it cost the citizens so much more than time and money! No money could ever compensate all for what we experienced! So, @7:17 and others, what is your position on the illegal stipends, other unjustified monetary compensation, illegal plot approval and subsequent building, etc? No need to comment on the people involved, just comment on the actions! Jack, Tina and Tom are honest and transparent and only have a desire to help the citizens. We will not always agree on their position, but, at least we know they will do the right thing!
That is so totally not true. Jack stood up there and said he was totally serious, he wanted the board to reimburse the Save East Greenbush group for expenses, in the amount of $5000. How about we all see what Jack is made of? Answer here Jack, you said you were serious in asking for the money, are you backtracking on that?
what is really ironic is that if there had been a referendum the idea of a casino would have been quashed at the very beginning. I remember Phil Malone quoted as saying it would have been too expensive. What the Town paid in legal fees would have probably been enough to cover a referendum. Feathers probably picked up the bill for the litigation - but who knows?
Whether or not Jack was serious or not doesn't make much of a difference, when has it become illegal for a person yo ask for a donation? It'd be one thing if he had asked for a donation to support a drug habit, but he wasn't.
This issue is a complete distraction and has nothing to do with the next election. But let's find out who the candidates are first and where they stood on the casino issue. Remember - Mr. Poorman said he was going to primary Mr. Langley - which one of those gentlemen would you prefer??
Dear Ridiculous @ 9:48am. Did it ever occur to you that what was the logical sense to asking the 5 board members to pay the debt WE incurred because they,while being paid as "Elected officials" to represent their constituency, caused this debt BY just NOT DOING THERE JOB ? Did you ever hear "Due Diligence" ? Can you go to your job, & not do the work you were hired for & still get paid, I bet not. You would be expected to return the monies you pretended to earn.
Really now? you believe Council persons DiMartino or MAM are on the take? that is got to be one of the most preposterous thoughts ever, I truly believe their trying do do whats best for the town & they may not get it right every time in everyone's eyes but to state that their responsible to pay the monies back accrued by residents who believed in another way....lets be real... no one ask them to hire a lawyer. The Casino my friends was NEVER coming here in the first place we have a Democratic Governor & it was going to a Democratic supported area. Obliviously those who put money into their beliefs about the casino were very passionate in the cause but what's RIDICULOUS is to hold the board members responsible to pay them back.
Ah, see here's where your wrong...the Supervisor of Tyre is a Republican. As an avid anti casino fighter, I don't think the lawsuits were necessary but I understand why they were done. What would be nice is to have a Town Board who can do their due diligence and not force their town residents to have to sue for them to perform their duties properly.
Mr. Langley's only hope for survival is a real "fess-up" as to how the casino fiasco went down. He needs to name the names of the insiders and tell us what happened. We know that the police and the Planning board had inside information as early as February of last year. Looks like the insiders controlled a whole lot.
A couple of points addressed to those submitting comments attempting to make a "straw-man" argument that somehow SEG is after the Town to pay its legal bill. First, such an action would be illegal. It's prohibited by the Gift and Loan provisions of the State Finance Law. So give it up.
Second, to the point of whether SEG needed to hire a lawyer. Take a look at what the casino initiative people attempted to do to the Town's master zoning plan with that convoluted argument to the ZBA - and the comment from the ZBA member that they "were doing what the Town wanted." And to the point made above that the casino was not coming here because "we're not Democrat," the major local investor "players" are Dems as is Feathers who is a close confidant of the Governor's.
Bottom line, the Board didn't do its due diligence on the matter, rolled over in the conspiracy and did a great disservice to the Town and its residents.
To the "it was never going to come here" crowd - Feathers and his co-conspirators spent over $1,000,000 on something that wasn't going to happen? Get real, friends. He thought he had it sewed up, even down to the zoning "fix," given what the insiders promised. Again, ask Mr. Langley where the casino resolution came from a year ago last April.
And don't forget that during the Casino period Supervisor Keith "Casino" Langley was actively seeking the Democratic Party endorsement so that he could run unopposed as Town Supervisor during this year's election. How did that work out for you MISTER Supervisor?
6/15 @ 3:57 p.m. If it comes down to a primary between Keith Langley and Mike Poorman, I will vote for Mr. Poorman who is pro-development and wants to actually DO the job, which is more than we can say for Langley who, at this point in time has no working relationship with any of the board members and is spending all his time begging people to vote for him. It's really quite pathetic. NO LANGLEY 2015!
3:57 p.m. I won't vote for either Langley or Poorman or Langley's running mates for that matter.. I'm planning to write in Jack Conway for Supervisor and Tina Tierney and Tom Grant for Town Board.
I'm guessing that Langley has decided against running. There is no agenda for tomorrow night's meeting and it is less than a day away. He would need to at least meet minimum requirements of his job in this time period right before election if he was running for office. Ignoring the Open Meetings law is not good. We should at least be able to expect him to bow out with dignity
East Greenbush Town Board Minutes are generally never posted more than an hour before the meeting. This has been brought up time and time again, to which each time our Supervisor stares with a blank stare. It's truly pathetic and sad that residents have to continue to ask our Supervisor to obey the law and the sad part is even when he and the other boards are called out on their illegal activity they continue on like it's no big deal. This is what this town's come to, suing our boardsto demand them to follow the law, and they still don't change their old school ways.
10:28 p.m. Keith Langley has been endorsed by the EG Repub Committee to run for re-election. He IS running and petitions are being circulated now to get him on the ballot. Mike Poorman is also running for supervisor. If Langley has the stomach for it, he will be battling Poorman for the Republican line on the ballot. It is in this regard that we may see Langley quit rather than spend time and money campaigning for the Republican line. You see, Mr. Langley prefers the "easy button" method of operation. If it's not easy, he's not interested. That's why he's been working so hard for a cross-endorsement by the democrats. No matter what the cost, he's always looking for easy, which is not a good quality in a town supervisor, especially in a town like East Greenbush. There is, of course, an agenda for today's board meeting but it typically isn't put on the website until early to late afternoon.
Here's what I like about Keith Langley. He will not change his opinions just because people ask him to. He will not grandstand and campaign door to door begging for votes. As he has told many of us, he is not a Fuller Brush Salesman. He will not actively fundraise for his campaign. If people want to give him money out of the goodness of their hearts he will accept it, but he will NOT host a fundraiser at the Elks, the Legion, the VFW, or any other place. Keith is a very modest person who is reluctant to toot his own horn. Keith will let his outstanding record as Supervisor speak for itself. There is no such thing as a Keith Langley political team. Keith is running on his own record. If people want to run on the same political party line with him that's ok with Keith. But Keith is his own man, he will not campaign with anyone else, except Chris DeFruscio. That's just Keith being Keith and that's the way it is.
Thank you for your consideration.
ReplyDeleteHey, Tom. If it can't be Eileen, we're glad it's you. It's easy to see that you have a passion for politics done right. Mr. Langley could learn a thing or 22 from you. You are smart and a gentleman. You have my vote.
ReplyDeleteI had a question about whether or not I could sign the petition for EG 1st candidates, so I went to the EG1st.org website for the answer. It was easy!
ReplyDeleteThe signatures in this household are saved!!!
ReplyDelete2 votes in my household for EG1st. Too bad the boy's not 18 yet; that would've made 3!
ReplyDelete3 signatures saved in our house.
ReplyDeleteNot to be a total downer but let's just pray that enough people are paying close enough attention to the deficiencies and failures of our so-called local government representatives to even care about your nominating petitions. Many people could not give you the name of even one town official. Those people are hard to convince of a problem. It's not quick and it's not easy, it's campaign season and a lot of people want nothing to do with it. Remember, signing a casiNO petition does not guarantee a signature on a nominating petition. Just hope you don't find that out too late.
ReplyDeleteJACK/TINA/TOM 2015!
I believe that there is a different kind of "constituency" out there now in our Town. It's made up of Reps and Dems AND citizens who have really not been politically active in the past. This constituency was awakened by the conspiracy between the insiders of the major parties to pull off the casino fiasco. There has been unrest about the incompetence of the current and previous administrations, but no real alternative had surfaced. All that has changed now. There is actually a chance to drain the swamp, and a bunch of new people want to help do it.
DeletePeople keep kindly warning that just because someone was anti casino this doesn't necessarily mean they'll vote for EG1st. But no where can I find in their campaign this being about a casino, other than the fact this group met through the casino fiasco. The casino woke people up and got people talking.
ReplyDeletePeople also keep warning that 3rd parties don't win. This may be statistically somewhat correct, but ot impossible. Times have changed, with the world of social media news and information travel faster than ever before. Times have also changed in EG. If you want EG1st to win, get talking and sharing information!
4:47 p.m. You're correct, it's no longer about casino, now it's about politics and many of the same people who were passionate about defeating a casino in EG, don't involve themselves with politics and campaigns for office. But I'll lay down my sword on this one. Time will make my point better than I ever could. Just wish you were going after a major and a minor party line. Now, I'll be quiet.
DeleteJACK/TINA/TOM 2015
You certainly have a point to consider, but the problem (I think) with identifying with either major party is the real perception that one "buys in" to the traditions of mischief that each perpetrates interchangeably. Remember the classic line "that's the way it has always been done." And I heard the former Supervisor quoted as saying, "if Jack wins, we don't GET anything." Very revealing. The Dems and Reps are all about a place at the graft trough.
DeleteWe are for Tina, Tom and Jack!
ReplyDeleteSaving our signatures in this house!
ReplyDeleteNo signatures for the Keith Langley crowd. 2 saved signatures in our apt. for Tina, Tom and Jack.
ReplyDeletePetition, vote, support and appreciation. That's how our entire household of three voters feels about Jack Conway and his team. Their "It's About Time" from their web site should be read by every East Greenbush voter.
ReplyDeleteJay GIrvin is at pre board to negotiate contracts. I hope the workers won't be fooled by hefty election year contracts and start believing Keith Langley is a nice guy. Too bad we can't hold this till after election and get a contract that is good for all.
ReplyDeleteNO HEFTY ELECTION YEAR CONTRACTS 2015!
DeleteJack/Tina/Tom 2015
Jay Girvin is not there to negotiate any contracts hes making decisions about daily operations that are not getting done on a daily basis because nobody can make simple questions easy, and unionized employees know the towns problems way better than you think.They live this joke everyday.
ReplyDelete659, your so correct ! Town employees are the casualties in this mess. No one wants to acknowledge that though.
DeleteJust an FYI: not one Town employee is getting rich in this town, not one !
Contrary to the myth, they have had no contract for two years. Yet amazingly, the work still gets done daily.
they might not be getting rich, but quite a few are making pretty good salary's. Take a look at the seethroughNY web site.
Deletehttp://seethroughny.net/
look up what the towns employees are making, and come back and see if you can make that same statement?
I can ....clearly and without malice. The only ones doing better than average are those that have been with the Town for awhile. Otherwise, they do about average for municipal workers in the Capital District.
DeleteCount on Langley/DeF to open the candy store before the election to try to save his butt. Isn't that the same kind of thing that happened with the sick leave incentive to secure the future of the previous supervisor? We'll be paying for that pensionable add-on forever.
ReplyDeleteAnonymousJune 11, 2015 at 9:15 PM---Aren't the town employees following the old contract until a new one is in place. you know, the one that grants them their BIRTHDAY off! Seriously?! Their BIRTHDAY! And the contract one that guarantees a certain amount of overtime, isn't that the one that is in place until a new one is agreed upon? You're right, no town employee is getting rich but you know what, most residents aren't either and we schlep off to work everyday without the perks the union workers get yet we have to pay for the union contracts that are negotiated. What a SHAM!
ReplyDeleteOh boy, this may get ugly now. Let's focus on the bigger problem - those who make the decisions higher up. Union or non-union there are bad apples in every occupation, most of the town workers I've seen are hard working. From an outside perspective I see a handful of "workers"embarrassing this town on a daily basis and giving a bad rap to anyone associated, they are a couple of court attendants and Keith Langley and those he chooses to run his life and bring to town hall.
DeleteDid you know that the "birthday incentive" comes to about $170k a year paid out? And the DPW CSEA employees complain that they don't have any good vehicles or equipment. That $170k could buy a lot of decent stuff!
DeleteI am sorry, I misspoke - Sick incentive is what I meant to type. Each employee gets $250 each quarter if they don't call in sick to work. That is the $170k.
DeleteThe paid birthday is about $30k.
Hey genius, try again. There are 4 quarters in a year, which means every employee would get $1000 "IF" they never took a sick day. By your math, we have 170 employees. Ummm mm where?why not just look at how much was paid out? Or would that not fit your agenda?
DeleteGood morning Mr. Supervisor Langley,
ReplyDeleteAre you finally beginning to realize your pipe dreams for re-election are rapidly slipping away from you? Have you been monitoring the lackluster reports from your (few) petition carriers?
If the Supervisor had begun to follow the Platform articulated in the Advertiser by Matters and DiMartino during their campaign, he'd be in a strong position now. Instead he followed DeFruscio on to the bus, and then fell for the conspiracy initiated by the Dem insiders on the casino. Toast.
DeleteIt's been pretty evident for some time now that the honeymoon period between Honey Bee Keith, MA and Debbie is over yet the same failed experiment between them is now being replayed within the ranks of the republican party with Langley, Tibbits, and Lenartz. Is this yet another brainstorm from political mastermind CDeF? And why is Honey Bee still buzzing around this guy anyway? Does he never learn? Correct...he never learns. The police union contract was the last incomplete item on the June pre-board agenda. It will be interesting to see if MA and Debbie vote to pass it, but why not wait until January to see if we will have a new EG 1st supervisor and board members who will really scrutinize the contract and trim the fat? The same goes for the DPW contract. All eyes will be on the "girls" as they now have the power to keep Honey Bee from stinging us any more than he already has these past 3+ years. Also evident now is why they won't vote for a fifth board member. If they did that, they'd be as irrelevant as they were when Mangold was on the board. The town deserves five town board members but we're better protected with four until Honey Bee flys away for good at the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteI secured information some time back which indicated that the sick-leave incentive for 2007 -2010 cost the Town about $192,000. In addition, sick-leave-incentive funds paid to employees are considered “pensionable” and these amounts are reported to the retirement system as income. It is informative that this provision had "sunset" in the previous contract. The Memorandum of Agreement which added it to the 2007-2010 contract was signed on January 23, 2007, but the Town was unable to produce any documentation that the Town Board had approved the addition of the MOA to the 2007-2010 contract.
ReplyDeleteTo be very clear, the 2007-2010 contract passed by the Board did not contain the sick-leave MOA. It was executed later, apparently without any Board action/approval.
Deletethe sick leave incentive does not go toward retirement its paid in a seperate check
ReplyDeleteSeparate check or not, I believe that the amounts are reported to the state retirement system as pensionable compensation. At least that is what I was told by the Town's Finance Officer when I requested the information.
DeleteI hope EG 1st realizes that if they're elected, the micromanaging by a select and very aggressive group of residents won't stop. Then, they will discover the impossibility of pleasing everybody and the resultant wrath of the judgers thereafter. For example, candidate Conway, will you go after the stipends that were illegally taken by town employees to beef up their pensions. No? Then be prepared to be trashed for it. How about an assortment of other undercover "deals" that have benefited connected insiders for decades? Are you going to clean that up, too? No? Be prepared to be trashed for it. The deficiency report that could be written about our town could easily be 100 pages long, two-sided! It takes more than a doctorate in anthropology to deal with the political Neanderthals in our town. It takes strong knowledge of government administration but also in the dirty inner workings of small town politics that benefit the well practiced, politically connected, insider takers in this town. Langley is being played for a fool because he doesn't have the knowledge, skills and abilities mentioned above. As the GF likes to say..."he's toast" and burned toast at that. Let's just hope EG 1st candidates have very thick skins. If elected, they'll need it.
ReplyDeleteAt some point, people need to move on from the stipends. It happened, it was wrong and EG1st has nothing to do with it nor has any power to change it. Nor do they or anyone else has the magical power of taking back all of the favors to the insiders, once again - it happened. The question isn't what EG1st can do about the mistakes of the past, the question is will they continue to make the same mistakes. It doesn't seem they will, but to demand they magically take back all of the mistakes of EG's past politicians is unfair.
DeleteOne thing any administration can do is follow-up with the Retirement Division of the State Comptroller's office to insure that the stipends paid, the longevity and sick-leave incentive payments made to elected officials are excluded from the calculation of pensionable compensation. May not get the cash back to the Town, but citizens wouldn't have to pay the pension "benefit" on the ill-gotten gains. Further, if one of those elected officials wants to run again he/she should be honorable and return the payments to the Town without the Town having to go after them.
DeleteWhile I may not agree on everything that EG1st does, I will not bash them. Why, because I know that no matter what they will be doing their best to do what is right and what is fair.
DeleteIn other words they will never hand out stipends, and will never be handing out made up jobs to people that have helped them. This kind of stuff is something that has been going on in this town, and just about everywhere for years now. It needs to stop. They are just the ones to stop it.
How come certain people in this town can build whatever the hell they want without a building permit? And the rest of us have to follow the law? This will be stopped!!! Just that simple.
Dear 10:43,
ReplyDeleteThe "aggressive group of residents" became that way because they were seriously disrespected by the current administration. Despite clear communications that residents were overwhelmingly against the actions being taken by Langley and crew, the board sat, at every meeting, with pursed lips and blank stares on their faces. The TB's dismissive attitude fueled the residents' aggression.
This new "aggressive group of residents" had the collective intelligence to know that something was afoul in our town.
If elected, Jack, Tina, and Tom have a huge job ahead of them, as there are a multitude of large-scale issues to tackle. The "aggressive group of residents" will continue their active involvement but they will have the security of knowing that, for the first time in many years, they will be listened to and respected by their TB, regardless of the decisions.
Lets not forget, if EG1st is truly independent, educated, and ethical, they can simply follow the guidance of the Department of State and NYS Town Law. Luckily MAM and Deb are educating themselves of the true way to operate a Town Government (its not rocket science and doesn't need to be magically created since its well documented in Law) and all we need is one more independent person on our Board that is "not on the take". Then simply govern for the majority of residents with educated, ethical decision making and guess what? We can right this ship and make this a true Class A Suburban Town. There are many folks living and working here that are just asking for Good Government, hopefully this becomes our year...
ReplyDeleteTruer words were never spoken than when 12:58 p.m. said "for the first time in many years, they will be listened to and respected by their TB, regardless of the decisions." That's all we can hope for when others are elected to make decisions for us. In fact, there is nothing Jack, Tina, and Tom love more than a spirited debate! This proves that they are willing to listen AND communicate, which are two extremely important qualities that Mr. Langley lacks. For two inexperienced people in the ways of secret, insider politics in EG, Deb and MA are clearly now leaning towards supporting each other and being voices for the people. For the rest of the year, I think we all have a good feeling that those two are going to keep Mr. Langley on a pitifully short leash. They seem to have returned to working together while Mr. Langley sits alone and sulks. They appear to be doing the best they can to keep the ship upright until the end of the year. The next time you see them, thank them. It can't be easy working with Mr. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if Jack became the FDR of East Greenbush......maybe "Fireside Chats" at Town Hall once a month for residents to talk about what's on their minds. It's for him to decide, but from what I know of him, it's a real possibility.
DeleteQuestion(s): Did not Mr. Conway urge the Town Board to make a donation to Save EG (following the Casino debacle)? Is this part of his plan as Supervisor - have town $ be transferred to EG Saves? I believe this issue should be addressed. It will be awfully difficult to even consider voting for a Dem or Rep in this town, but I'd like to know the answer to my question before I decide on a candidate.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember Jack's exact comments (he can speak for himself), but I would guess that it was a rhetorical flourish reflecting what the political insiders had really cost the citizens of this Town because of their own selfish plans. Frankly, I don't think it would be legal. But the sentiment is comforting.
DeleteI was there. I didn't take it to mean he actually wanted the town to pay the bill - but that because of the town's refusal to ascertain what the citizens wanted - the town cost the citizens thousands of dollars to make their wishes heard. Langley never heard anything. NO Langley in 2015.
DeleteWe need a Board that doesn't just sit there "deadpan," ignoring the violations of the law happening right in front of their noses. Take the illegal Plat "approval" for Thompson Way signed a year ago January by the Planning Board Chair without a meeting or Resolution by the Planning Board. And then there's the illegal sewer connection for the 2 Cooper Ave. "construction." They just sit there and refuse to do their jobs to see that the laws are faithfully administered. It goes to a common practice here in EG. Just do it, and require the citizens to go to court to get the Town to follow the law. Has to stop.
ReplyDelete6:16 p.m. Your question is valid. Mr. Conway urged the town board to donate $5,000 to Save EG to help pay for legal expenses. Public funds would never be budgeted for such a thing but I was never clear about if Jack wanted the money from the board or from each board member personally (I.e. $1,000 each) from their own personal funds. Either way, he was clearly making the statement...you board members caused this mess, now it's only right and fair for you to help pay off the legal debt we incurred to stop it.
ReplyDeleteRidiculous!!!! seriously, to have the board members be financially responsible for the reimbursement of funds for a group who believed in a different way & assumed legal debt because of it. That was @ their own surmise not the whole towns popular vote. So, if what you are saying is that the board members should be responsible for every time a resident accrues cost relating to a belief of theirs that is not supported by the board....what?!?!?!?
DeleteIf the Board had acted after due diligence, you might have a point. But there was conspiracy all over the place with the Town's elite insiders. Just ask Mr. Langley to tell you who gave him the resolution that the Board passed in April of last year. Malone said that a referendum was too expensive. Mangold's brother was one of the investors. The Board did not live up to its oath as public officers, and the "fix" was in all over the place.
DeleteMr. Conway was justifiably angry that ordinary citizens had to hire a lawyer because the TB wouldn't do it's due diligence before inviting a gambling casino into our community. The due diligence would have included spending money to professionally SURVEY the entire town on the subject BEFORE passing two resolutions to bring it in. But that never happened and it was an unforgivable act of malfeasance on the part of Supervisor Langley. Mr. Conway's request was just to make the point that the TB members should have to share the burden for acting wholly irresponsibly. He never expected to get $5,000 from board members who have stayed true (except for one) to the idea of bringing a casino to EG without properly surveying the town FIRST. Just like with the zoning board, only one member on the TB got it right. It seems a shame that only 20% of the members on a board have the intellectual ability to get it right. For this reason alone, folks, INTELLIGENCE in a board member matters. For this reason alone, vote for intelligence. Vote for JACK, TINA, and TOM on election day, Nov 3rd or as Mr. Conway so aptly pointed out, pay the price later.
ReplyDeleteTo 10:43 yesterday: I am reminded of other "aggressive groups of citizens" - The Sons of Liberty", The Freedom Marchers, and the people in the suffrage movement. It should be with great pride that aggressive citizens right the wrongs of government. Of course, our problems are on a smaller scale but this government needs to be fixed nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! It's incredulous to even think that you are serious about Jack C having asked for reimbursement for the cost of the attorney! The elite in this town turned us all upside down with that (I consider illegal) proposal for the casino, and it cost the citizens so much more than time and money! No money could ever compensate all for what we experienced!
ReplyDeleteSo, @7:17 and others, what is your position on the illegal stipends, other unjustified monetary compensation, illegal plot approval and subsequent building, etc?
No need to comment on the people involved, just comment on the actions!
Jack, Tina and Tom are honest and transparent and only have a desire to help the citizens. We will not always agree on their position, but, at least we know they will do the right thing!
That is so totally not true. Jack stood up there and said he was totally serious, he wanted the board to reimburse the Save East Greenbush group for expenses, in the amount of $5000. How about we all see what Jack is made of? Answer here Jack, you said you were serious in asking for the money, are you backtracking on that?
Deletewhat is really ironic is that if there had been a referendum the idea of a casino would have been quashed at the very beginning. I remember Phil Malone quoted as saying it would have been too expensive. What the Town paid in legal fees would have probably been enough to cover a referendum. Feathers probably picked up the bill for the litigation - but who knows?
DeleteWhether or not Jack was serious or not doesn't make much of a difference, when has it become illegal for a person yo ask for a donation? It'd be one thing if he had asked for a donation to support a drug habit, but he wasn't.
ReplyDeleteThis issue is a complete distraction and has nothing to do with the next election. But let's find out who the candidates are first and where they stood on the casino issue. Remember - Mr. Poorman said he was going to primary Mr. Langley - which one of those gentlemen would you prefer??
DeleteDear Ridiculous @ 9:48am.
ReplyDeleteDid it ever occur to you that what was the logical sense to asking the 5 board members to pay the debt WE incurred because they,while being paid as "Elected officials" to represent their constituency, caused this debt BY just NOT DOING THERE JOB ? Did you ever hear "Due Diligence" ?
Can you go to your job, & not do the work you were hired for & still get paid, I bet not. You would be expected to return the monies you pretended to earn.
Really now? you believe Council persons DiMartino or MAM are on the take? that is got to be one of the most preposterous thoughts ever, I truly believe their trying do do whats best for the town & they may not get it right every time in everyone's eyes but to state that their responsible to pay the monies back accrued by residents who believed in another way....lets be real... no one ask them to hire a lawyer. The Casino my friends was NEVER coming here in the first place we have a Democratic Governor & it was going to a Democratic supported area. Obliviously those who put money into their beliefs about the casino were very passionate in the cause but what's RIDICULOUS is to hold the board members responsible to pay them back.
DeleteAh, see here's where your wrong...the Supervisor of Tyre is a Republican. As an avid anti casino fighter, I don't think the lawsuits were necessary but I understand why they were done. What would be nice is to have a Town Board who can do their due diligence and not force their town residents to have to sue for them to perform their duties properly.
DeleteMr. Langley's only hope for survival is a real "fess-up" as to how the casino fiasco went down. He needs to name the names of the insiders and tell us what happened. We know that the police and the Planning board had inside information as early as February of last year. Looks like the insiders controlled a whole lot.
ReplyDeleteA couple of points addressed to those submitting comments attempting to make a "straw-man" argument that somehow SEG is after the Town to pay its legal bill. First, such an action would be illegal. It's prohibited by the Gift and Loan provisions of the State Finance Law. So give it up.
ReplyDeleteSecond, to the point of whether SEG needed to hire a lawyer. Take a look at what the casino initiative people attempted to do to the Town's master zoning plan with that convoluted argument to the ZBA - and the comment from the ZBA member that they "were doing what the Town wanted." And to the point made above that the casino was not coming here because "we're not Democrat," the major local investor "players" are Dems as is Feathers who is a close confidant of the Governor's.
Bottom line, the Board didn't do its due diligence on the matter, rolled over in the conspiracy and did a great disservice to the Town and its residents.
To the "it was never going to come here" crowd - Feathers and his co-conspirators spent over $1,000,000 on something that wasn't going to happen? Get real, friends. He thought he had it sewed up, even down to the zoning "fix," given what the insiders promised. Again, ask Mr. Langley where the casino resolution came from a year ago last April.
DeleteAnd don't forget that during the Casino period Supervisor Keith "Casino" Langley was actively seeking the Democratic Party endorsement so that he could run unopposed as Town Supervisor during this year's election.
ReplyDeleteHow did that work out for you MISTER Supervisor?
6/15 @ 3:57 p.m. If it comes down to a primary between Keith Langley and Mike Poorman, I will vote for Mr. Poorman who is pro-development and wants to actually DO the job, which is more than we can say for Langley who, at this point in time has no working relationship with any of the board members and is spending all his time begging people to vote for him. It's really quite pathetic.
ReplyDeleteNO LANGLEY 2015!
3:57 p.m. I won't vote for either Langley or Poorman or Langley's running mates for that matter.. I'm planning to write in Jack Conway for Supervisor and Tina Tierney and Tom Grant for Town Board.
ReplyDelete2:30 p.m. We're talking about the primary in September, which will be between Langley and Poorman. There will be no write-in oppty for that election.
DeleteIs Langley really running? We've seen public announcements from Dave, Jack and Mike but nothing at all from Langley and his running mates.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that Langley has decided against running. There is no agenda for tomorrow night's meeting and it is less than a day away. He would need to at least meet minimum requirements of his job in this time period right before election if he was running for office. Ignoring the Open Meetings law is not good. We should at least be able to expect him to bow out with dignity
ReplyDeleteEast Greenbush Town Board Minutes are generally never posted more than an hour before the meeting. This has been brought up time and time again, to which each time our Supervisor stares with a blank stare. It's truly pathetic and sad that residents have to continue to ask our Supervisor to obey the law and the sad part is even when he and the other boards are called out on their illegal activity they continue on like it's no big deal. This is what this town's come to, suing our boardsto demand them to follow the law, and they still don't change their old school ways.
Delete10:28 p.m. Keith Langley has been endorsed by the EG Repub Committee to run for re-election. He IS running and petitions are being circulated now to get him on the ballot. Mike Poorman is also running for supervisor. If Langley has the stomach for it, he will be battling Poorman for the Republican line on the ballot. It is in this regard that we may see Langley quit rather than spend time and money campaigning for the Republican line. You see, Mr. Langley prefers the "easy button" method of operation. If it's not easy, he's not interested. That's why he's been working so hard for a cross-endorsement by the democrats. No matter what the cost, he's always looking for easy, which is not a good quality in a town supervisor, especially in a town like East Greenbush. There is, of course, an agenda for today's board meeting but it typically isn't put on the website until early to late afternoon.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I like about Keith Langley. He will not change his opinions just because people ask him to. He will not grandstand and campaign door to door begging for votes. As he has told many of us, he is not a Fuller Brush Salesman. He will not actively fundraise for his campaign. If people want to give him money out of the goodness of their hearts he will accept it, but he will NOT host a fundraiser at the Elks, the Legion, the VFW, or any other place. Keith is a very modest person who is reluctant to toot his own horn. Keith will let his outstanding record as Supervisor speak for itself. There is no such thing as a Keith Langley political team. Keith is running on his own record. If people want to run on the same political party line with him that's ok with Keith. But Keith is his own man, he will not campaign with anyone else, except Chris DeFruscio. That's just Keith being Keith and that's the way it is.
ReplyDelete