East Greenbush Proposed Code of Ethics – UPDATE

Last evening’s (9/21/16) Ethics Law Public Hearing clarified one issue I had with the proposal.  Pursuant to Section 16(f), Town employees will not be prohibited from being from being Committee Members “in a political party represented on the election ballot.”  Rather, employees will be banned from being members of a committee’s Executive Committee, i.e., Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary or Treasurer.  The proposal should be more specific.

However, pursuant to Section 16(g) members of Town Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Ethics; Commissioner of Public Works; Town Comptroller; Assessor; Director of Planning and Zoning; and Deputy Supervisor are banned from being a member of a political committee.  Pursuant to Section 16(j), such employees would have to vacate their Town position or Committee membership by 1/1/17.

Most enlightening/disturbing, was a statement read on behalf of the Ethics Board by its Chair, Kathleen Luria.  I quote.  “I want to be clear so that town residents understand that the version which is the subject of tonight’s public hearing is not the version put forward by the BOE.  It is the town board’s draft which includes the provisions that we rejected for the reasons I enumerated earlier [note: Sections 16(g) and 16(j)].”  The very Board charged with administering the proposed Ethics Code disagrees with certain of its provisions.

Ms. Luria also quoted then BOE Chair and current Town Supervisor Jack Conway’s 10/26/12 BOE resignation letter: “there is a fundamental conflict of interest in having the town board write the code of ethics that is supposed to regulate the conduct of its own members.”  This is exactly what it did, according to Ms. Luria.

Miles’ Law states “Where you stand depends on where you sit.”  So true!

Pete Stenson

East Greenbush