A heartfelt thanks goes out to the East Greenbush Police Benevolent Association for helping Conserns-U during the holidays.

EGPD ham it up for holidays

By James Breig

Published: Monday, December 27, 2010

http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/12/27/greenbush/doc4d10ff368a763964190647.txt

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

As you celebrate Christmas, remember it's true meaning as you enjoy the company of your family, relatives and friends. 

2010 - An Interesting Year In East Greenbush

2011 is fast approaching, giving us time to reflect on the past year and ready ourselves for the future.

2010 was an interesting year in East Greenbush, to say the least.  Following is a small listing of what we, as a Town, experienced and endured this past year.  By no means is it all-inclusive. 

·         A change in majority alliances on the Town Board;

·         Courts twice ruled against "two hat seats", resulting in a three member Town Board and numerous unsuccessful attempts to seat replacement Board Members;

·         Standing Room Only attendance at Town Board Meetings;

·         EGPD Officer Mark Mann returning safely from Afghanistan;

·         The tragic loss of EGPD Officer Ed Witko;

·         Creation of a local "Tea Party" and the Bastille Day event;

·         Creation of "CARE" and its sponsoring the Candidate Debate;

·         A hotly contested Election, with what could well be a record turnout, to elect two Town Board Members and the seating of those Board Members in November;

·         An audit of the Town's Financial Statements commissioned by the Town Board;

·         An audit of the East Greenbush Ambulance District Operations conducted by the NYS Office of the State Comptroller;

·         Expansion of the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc facility;

·         Approval of the Fed Ex Ground Planned Development District;

·         Appointments to the Town Board of Ethics;

·         A 2011 Budget with a small tax increase, but with reserves to pay down the inter-fund borrowings;

·         Creation of a Citizens Fiscal Advisory Committee, with a Chair and Vice-Chair to be elected by the members; and

·         Food drives for local food pantries and clothing collection drives for Conserns-U.

Let's build on the good things that have been accomplished and focus on the future … 2011 and beyond.  Admittedly we may not all agree on what "the good things" are. 

I think the most heartening of "the good things" is the "Standing Room Only attendance at Town Board Meetings".  Townspeople have become more interested and involved in the the governance of the Town.

I'd like to see this continue, but I'd also like to see the residents of East Greenbush leave past differences in the past and support the full Town Board.  I'm not saying we'll all agree with everything the Town Board does.  Nor am I saying that we should blindly follow without constructive criticism and questioning - the operative term being constructive.  Remember, regardless of our political preferences, leanings or affiliations, or theirs, they are elected to represent us all.  In doing so, we must hope and trust that they do what they believe is best for the Town.

Bismark is quoted as saying "Politics is the art of the possible."  Many have said that politics is also the art of compromise, where one gives up part of his or her "demands" in an effort to move forward.  Let's all focus on the common ground or goal rather than on the differences.  This may be overly optimistic, but I'd like to see every vote of the Town Board be unanimous and the result of Member discussion, deliberation and, if need be, compromise. 

Christmas Observance

All Town of East Greenbush offices will be closed on Friday, December 24, 2010 & Monday, December 27, 2010 in observance of Christmas.

Pete Stenson

Board of Ethics Update

The Board of Ethics held its third meeting on Tuesday evening, December 14th at Town Hall.  In attendance were Jim Breig, Jack Conway, Joseph Slater and Dave Youmans.  One member of the public attended. 

The primary topic of discussion was a draft document outlining the internal rules and regulations of the Board itself.  The document lays out the procedures we will use to process complaints filed by residents and advisory opinions requested by town officials and employees. 

Resident complaints must be filed in written form and must be notarized.  Although we are still in the early stages of the discussion on this, confidentiality will be granted in special cases but no anonymous complaints will be accepted.  Once a complaint is received the Board will first make a determination of whether there is cause to proceed or not.  If there is cause, we will follow a two-step investigation process. 

The first step will consist of a Board of Ethics review consisting mainly of taking statements from the parties involved.  If at the end of this stage we can determine that no violation of the Code of Ethics has occurred the complaint will be dismissed. 

If this review yields the need for information we will go to the next stage which is a public hearing of the case.  This will not be a public hearing in the sense that anyone can come and add their opinion.  It will be a hearing in public at which the complainant and the accused can bring witnesses and cross-examine one another's statements.  They will each have the right to bring an attorney to this hearing if they feel it is in their best interest. 

After this hearing, the Board of Ethics will make a recommendation to the Town Board as to whether a violation of the Code of Ethics has been violated.  The Board of Ethics is an advisory board and any actions taken pursuant to our deliberations must be taken by the Town Board. 

Everything I have just described here is in draft form and has not been finalized. 

We still have a great deal of work to do before we sign off on the process but this is our thinking at the present time. 

The next step for the Board of Ethics is to begin the process of drafting a Code of Ethics.  We encourage everyone to attend our meetings and participate in that discussion. 

We will announce the date of our January meeting as soon as it is scheduled.

Posted at the request of BOE Member Jack Conway