And A Vote Against Supervisor Sherman
To the Editor:
I am a resident of the Town of Stephentown, and I no longer take pride in saying that. I am appalled to know that recent actions along with the conviction of Mr. Gardner can be so blatantly laughed at by others in the state as well as local radio stations. The residents of Stephentown are ALL being laughed at and I for one am personally tired of the immature behavior, bullying and threats that have come to be the norm in the town if you dare to speak your opinion.
I am not sure how anyone can defend Mr. Gardner’s actions, unless they have not lived in the town long enough to remember the turmoil he caused the town over the Ralph Thomas Gravel Pit. I am almost positive without FOIL-ing the town records that the cost to the town for these activities, including legal counsel that we have continued to pay through this year along with the cost for reclamation of the land, far exceed any cost that Mr. Gardner claims to have saved the town.
No elected official should ever be above the law, and they need to be held accountable for their actions. I no longer care to hear or read what others have to say in support of or in opposition of Mr. Gardner. The Court has convicted him, period! Let the sentence fall where it may and justice take its course.
However, this is not my main concern for the Town of Stephentown. My concern is that the majority of the residents in Stephentown are not being heard. The reason for this is twofold. One, most are fed up and just do not care anymore. Second, the rest are afraid to speak because of the bullying and intimidation that follows. If we do not stick together and take a stand, we will not be heard. When anyone of us has a concern we should be able to take it to the people we elected and get answers. Instead we are told by our newly elected Town Supervisor, Mr. Thomas Sherman, “we will not discuss that at this time.”
Excuse me Mr. Sherman, if we (the residents of Stephentown) cannot discuss the issues that concern us at our town board meetings, when would you like us to discuss them? Maybe on Election Day in November 2009.
Our town is in a state of dismay to put it mildly. Almost every member of our Town Board including the Town Supervisor are newly elected, and none of them attended the New York State annual training for Board Members to learn what their responsibilities are for the positions they hold. Instead, they are listening to Mr. Sherman who thinks he is knowledgeable enough in all areas to rule our town without training. He discourages Board members and employees from attending trainings for the sake of saving the town money. This training is crucial for these members that serve us on processes and procedures of town government. No one should be asked or persuaded to neglect training to make informed decisions to save the town money. The recourse could be detrimental to the town. The liability for one wrong uninformed decision could cost the town more then the initial training.
Mr. Sherman will decide on his own what is important enough to be included in our town budget, and mileage for other employees to go to the bank is not, but he can pay himself for mileage and lunch as he did in August 2008. He thinks he can control our right to freedom of speech. He thinks he can control the other Board Members from making informed decisions. He seems to think he can create positions and not advertise them (Clerk to the Supervisor); hire whomever he wants (his wife) and get away with it. He thinks he can make contract positions without proper insurance certification; most recently the cleaner for the Town Hall. The last two examples I just stated are processes he has done without it going through the other members of the Board for a vote. He controls to such a degree that some of our Town Board Members do not even confront him, they just accept his decisions.
My point to the residents of the Town of Stephentown is simply this – Mr. Sherman and other members of the Town Board were elected into these positions by you and I; we need to stand up and let our voices be heard loud and clear; we are simply fed up with the petty dictatorship of Mr. Thomas Sherman, and the lack of knowledge he has for Town Laws and procedures and the lack of respect he has for the majority of the residents of the town. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, contact your Chairperson of your party and let them know they should be actively searching for a conscientious replacement of the current Town Supervisor. November 2009 will approach us quickly, and we can no longer afford to go to the polls and vote for one of the friends of the good old boys.
Joanne Wagar
Stephentown