June 30, 2010

Greenburgh Town Hall

 

Members Present:        Jack McLaughlin, Walter Rivera, Eric Scott and Mike Sigal

Others Present:            Mark Constantine, Glen Eisen; Joseph Malara; Gary Sastow; Hal Samis.

 

The meeting was convened at 7:10 p.m.  A quorum of the Board of Ethics was present. 

 

The agenda was accepted without any revisions.

 

The minutes of the May 19, 2010 meeting were adopted.

 

By email dated June 29, 2010 the Town Supervisor advised the Board of Ethics that the Town Board has interviewed mark Constantine and will take up his appointment to the Board of Ethics at its meeting to be held on  July 14, 2010 and will re-appoint Jack McLaughlin. Mr. Constantine cannot vote or be counted towards a quorum until his official appointment is confirmed.

 

By email to the Board of Ethics dated June 22, 2010 Supervisor Feiner confirmed removal of the agency members from his solicitation mailing lists in compliance with Opinion 2010-3. As such, it was decided that a fine will not be imposed.

 

The Board of Ethics recently received a letter from Ms. Rosemarie Hughes complaining that the Town Supervisor was allegedly using a Town electric car for personal use.  Ms. Hughes complained to the Westchester County District Attorney about the Town Supervisor’s use of said car as well.  The Westchester County District Attorney referred the matter to the Greenburgh Police Department.  The police investigation found that the use of the electric car was an authorized use and the investigation was closed. Ms. Hughes has not filed a verified complaint with the Board of Ethics as of this time.  Ms. Hughes will be notified of the statutory requirement that, in order for the Board of Ethics to consider a complaint, it must be notarized.

 

The issue of televising meetings of the Board of Ethics was discussed.  Mr. Rivera inquired with Town Deputy Attorney David Fried regarding the possibility of televising board meetings.  It was learned that only the main auditorium is wired for TV and can be used when not in use by another group.  Mr. Fried forwarded the matter to the Town Clerk who in turn forwarded the matter to Supervisor Feiner.  By email dated June 25, 2010 Mr. Feiner replied that no funds were available to pay the technician, but that a member of the Board of Ethics or a volunteer chosen by the Board of Ethics could be trained to use the equipment so that the meetings can be recorded and it could be televised at a later date. Mr. Feiner also expressed general concerns about the possibility of Board of Ethics meetings becoming politicized if they are televised and more claims being filed for political reasons. Mr. Sigal expressed a concern that it would become a distraction if a Board of Ethics member needed to operate the equipment.  It was suggested that a volunteer be identified by the Town Board to operate the equipment. Mr. Rivera will follow up with Mr. Fried. 

 

An inquiry from the Town Supervisor was made as to whether a donation can be accepted to restore the 9/11 wall.  Sam’s Club, who has an application pending before the Town, has offered to donate the money to repair the wall.  The Board of Ethics decided to respond by sending a letter referring to the report on accepting gifts and the response regarding accepting food donations for the veteran’s appreciation luncheon.

 

An inquiry by the Town Supervisor was made regarding accepting the lowest bid from a bidder who also does work for an applicant.  Mr. McLaughlin read a proposed opinion, which was adopted with minor revisions. 

 

Mr. McLaughlin reported that he and Mr. Sigal, as a subcommittee of the Board of Ethics, met with Supervisor Feiner and Councilman Sheehan, as a subcommittee of the Town Board.  The meeting was constructive.  The subcommittee was authorized to continue working with the Town Board Subcommittee on this matter.

 

With respect to a new complaint filed by Mr. Samis against Town Attorney Tim Lewis, it was noted that the issues raised in Mr. Samis’ complaint may to some degree be addressed in a report being undertaken by former Chief Judge Judith Kaye on actions allegedly taken by staff members and law enforcement officials which allegedly attempted to interfere with pursuing a legal complaint against a state official.  It was decided to wait until Judge Kaye’s report is available before proceeding further.

 

Mr. Sigal read a proposed decision regarding the complaint filed by Mr. Samis against Town Clerk Judith Beville regarding disclosure of the Valhalla lawsuit against the Town. Mr. Scott recused himself from this matter. Mr. Sigal also read a proposed decision re a separate complaint filed by Mr. Samis against three members of the Town Board regarding disclosure of the Valhalla lawsuit against the Town. Both proposed opinions were adopted, with minor changes.

 

Discussion took place regarding the financial disclosure form.  Mr. Constantine will follow up on this matter.  Discussion took place as to whether it was possible to have the form completed online.  In the interim a letter will be sent to those who have not responded.  With respect to the revised application form, it was discussed that the language has been clarified and the state statute has been more fully explained in simpler language.  Discussion took place as to the process to have the Town Board publicize the proposed form and ultimately adopt it.  Mr. McLaughlin suggested that it may be a good idea to have the town staff review and comment on the new form. 

 

Mr. Malara gave a brief update on complaint regarding solicitation/acceptance of refreshments at community meetings sponsored by the Town committee to develop a new land use comprehensive plan. Mr. McLaughlin recused himself.  Mr. Malara advised that follow-up inquiries of Councilman Sheehan and Commissioner Madden would be made, and also inquiries would be made of the donor.   

 

The issue of ethics training was discussed. Under the code of Ethics, it is the responsibility of the Town Attorney to prepare training materials, which materials are to be reviewed by the Board of Ethics. To the knowledge of the Board of Ethics this has not been done.  Mr. Scott and Mr. Apicella will follow up with the Town Attorney.

 

During public comments, Mr. Samis spoke for approximately 10 minutes.

 

After hearing public comment, the Board of Ethics affirmed its previous decisions.

 

The Board of Ethics discussed the next meeting date and determined not to set a date at this time. The Board is up-to-date on all pending complaints, except (i) the one deferred until the report of former Chief Judge Kaye and (ii) the ongoing investigation re solicitation/acceptance of refreshments at meetings of the Town's committee to develop a new comprehensive land use plan. So that it can focus on the latter in a meaningful way, the Board determined to wait until follow-up questions are finalized and sent out by its counsel, and a response date is set for answers to the follow-up questions, before setting a date for the next meeting. The date will be after the response date to the follow-up questions, depending on members’ schedules. Also, if counsel sends inquiries to the donor, which the Board has authorized, the response date for those inquiries would be taken into account in setting the next meeting date. A meeting will be held earlier if necessitated by developments relating to statutory amendments. Once set, notice of the meeting date will be posted on the Town website.

 

The meeting adjourned at 8:40pm.

 

Submitted by:             Walter Rivera, Secretary and

Gary S. Sastow, Esq., Administrative Counsel