Letter To The Editor – Hire Residents Only For Town Jobs

Dear Editor:
Earlier this year the city of Albany re-instituted its By-Law banning non-residents from working for the city. This is as it should be. Most cities and townships require their municipal employees to be residents.
In my Town of New Lebanon we always had a similar law on the books. However, on 3-10-2008, the Town Board passed an Amendment to this law that allowed any resident of Columbia County to work for the Town of New Lebanon. This decision was not made out of generosity or a need for employees, it was made as a means to cover the fact that the Town had been violating its own law for two years.
In 2006, a non-resident Zoning Enforcement Officer was hired. When this fact came to light, there were objections from several people, which later grew to many people, so the Board passed the Amendment to protect themselves, but it was too little, too late! Two years had gone by with this man as an illegal employee. During that time, he harassed, abused and aggrieved many property owners. One business that was decades old was shut down. Many people lost their livelihoods and thousands of dollars, and New Lebanon taxpayers were burdened with excessive legal fees for all the litigation instituted by this abusive man.
New Lebanon residents, contact your Supervisor and demand that the Amendment of 3-10-2008 be reversed! NO MORE non-resident employees or officials. Let’s keep our tax dollars in New Lebanon! No more new-comer officials or multiple family members serving on boards simultaneously, either. Town employees should be full time residents of at least ten years, and only one member of any family should work for the Town at the same time. Term limits must be instituted as well. Last, but certainly not least, demand that ALL actions taken by the ZEO during his illegal employment be reversed and compensated for.
January is coming up fast, and there will be re-appointments that will affect YOU. For more information, go to the website below and click on the page titled: Reverse The Amendment. It’s time to call our Town government to task. (www.PACT.moogo.com)
Respectfully,
Joanna Johnson-Smith
New Lebanon