by Kieron Kramer
To the neutral observer, the public comment period of the Grafton Town Board meeting on Monday, October 21, resembled mud wrestling more than a responsible expression of residents’ concerns. There was so much mud flying that it was hard to tell who was who, everyone was covered – Democrats and Republicans, Town Clerk supporters and detractors, Supervisor supporters and detractors. [private]With the shifting alliances and the misunderstandings and the grudges held by people against other people with whom they have had an unattractive history, there were few charitable moments. That is not to say that everyone present was acting out; the hall was packed, and extra chairs had to be brought in to accommodate everyone. So, although there were plenty of people who commented during the comment time there were plenty who said nothing and took the whole scene in.
It would be nice to blame the tone of the meeting on this being the last meeting before the election. History tells us otherwise. The one constant in Grafton Town Board meetings has been the hostility shown by residents and by Board Members to the last four Supervisors – Allison Kirchner, who resigned in response, Sawyer, who was defeated at the polls, Darling, who died in office, and now Supervisor Frank Higgins, who was appointed by the Board to fill Darling’s position and who, in a few short months, has three members of the Board, a majority, aligned against him. Yet in the election in November Higgins will be running unopposed to finish the last two years of Darling’s term. Figure that one out. Unless Graftonites at the meetings start treating the Supervisor and Board Members with some civility, no reasonable people will want those jobs.
The Gripes
The criticisms expressed at this meeting are, by and large, the same ones that have been expressed for the last few years. People want timely access to information like meeting minutes and meeting agendas and Town regulations. People want the Town’s finances to be put in order and kept in order. People want to get permits, licenses and information from the Town Clerk’s office in an efficient manner. All of these are reasonable concerns, but is the Town that bad at fulfilling these expectations? Or, at the moment, is it a question of Higgins’ style rather than substance? No government in history has been truly transparent, but many, mostly democracies, give the illusion of transparency. Higgins said after the meeting that he just wants to do the job in the most efficient manner possible and that he is not a politician. He would be the first to admit that he is inexperienced in these matters. Perhaps he will soon realize that being responsive to your constituents is part of the job.
Budget Gripes
Higgins was severely criticized for not providing copies of the preliminary budget before the public hearing on it scheduled for October 28. He said that people could get copies from him after this meeting; two did. Other towns make copies of the preliminary budget available at the Clerk’s office for those who want to see it before the hearing, and there are copies available at the hearing. What was more disconcerting, and this was pointed out by Tyler Sawyer, who had been the Town bookkeeper, is the bookkeeper for Hoosick and is the County auditor, was that the budget available now is not a preliminary budget. Sawyer is right to say that the summary page was not developed, that one of the columns required in a preliminary budget was not included and that this format is mandated by the State. To this Higgins replied, and not many Supervisors would have the courage to say so, “I am new at this; I’m not afraid to admit my mistakes.” He certainly didn’t get any help. Higgins took all the blame on this issue, but the curious thing is that the Board had already voted, 4-1, with Rick Ungaro voting against, to accept the “preliminary budget.” The budget that the Board approved was actually a tentative budget. Generally a preliminary budget will be the same as the final budget unless there is a math error discovered or a hue and cry at the hearing about a budget line. After being provoked by Sawyer about whether the budget will meet the tax cap, Higgins said, “No.” Sawyer said, “So it’s over 2%.” “It’s an increase of 1.4%,” Higgins replied.
Website Gripes
The timely posting on the website of minutes and the posting of the meeting agenda seven days before the meeting as provided for by a resolution passed in the July, 2012, meeting was raised by Linda Laveway, Cathy Goyer and David Buckley. “Without the minutes posted,” Laveway said, “it is impossible to research Board actions,” and she added, “The agenda that came out this afternoon was a shell. There is a lot of information that taxpayers are not able to get.” Cathy Goyer said, “What can we do to get the agenda seven days early; you hammered the hell out of Ray [Darling] about it.” Now Higgins is being hammered. Higgins was not on the Board when Ray Darling was “hammered” or when the resolution about the agenda was passed. The early presentation of an agenda was a cause cèlébre for Board Member Barbara Messenger at the time, when Cathy Goyer was Deputy Supervisor. Apparently, no Supervisor, Deputy or otherwise, has presented the agenda seven days before the meeting.
Goyer also complained that the Supervisor had unilaterally closed the website run and developed, for a modest $500, by Robert Phelps of Hoosick with Board Member Rick Ungaro as liaison. Higgins said he closed the website because documents would be given to Ungaro who would give them to Phelps to post and Phelps would charge for his time. He thought it would be more efficient if the Supervisor’s Secretary, Joe Allain, created a new website and posted the documents directly without middlemen. The $50 charge for the internet domain was absorbed, at least for this year, by Allain, and there is no labor charge for the posting. Economy and efficiency, Higgins would say. It is debatable whether there is a prohibition for this kind of unilateral decision by a Town Supervisor.
Assessor Gripes
When Craig Surprise was appointed Sole Assessor in Kirchner’s administration replacing the three elected Assessors, there was an uproar. Now, under Higgins’ administration, Surprise has been replaced by Dave Galarneau from Au Sable Forks for a $4,000 savings in salary. In the comment period Kyle Sweet made the straightforward statement that he was “disappointed” in the way Craig Surprise had been treated.
A flyer from the new Assessor’s office says his hours are Wednesday from 9 am to 4 pm or longer with two hours, 9 to 11 am, in the office “guaranteed.” “These hours will continue until such time as is necessary to accommodate the public,” the flyer states. Higgins said that the Assessor “kept regular hours this month” and is getting used to Town business. During comment time Margaret Claus asked what the Assessor’s hours are, and Higgins said the Assessor would be in the office from 9 to 11 am on Wednesdays. Claus replied that many seniors will have need to photocopy their income tax returns for their STAR applications. Seniors applying for Enhanced STAR property tax reduction must go through an income verification process. “Will he be available?” she asked. Higgins said, “Yes.” Claus seemed skeptical. Had all the information on the Assessor’s flyer been expressed by Higgins her fears might have been allayed.
Saving $4,000 in the Assessor’s salary is one of the reasons the tax increase was held to 1.4%. Saving a few bucks on the website can’t hurt. And the residents’ unfortunate impression that the Town government is not transparent might be remedied by stopping the bickering.
The rest of the gripes and the Board actions will appear here next week.[/private]