Category: Uncategorized

The scandal that will not die-the missing checks

Saratoga Springs Deputy Accounts Commissioner Stacy Connors and former Deputy Mayor Angela Rella submitted claims to the city for money to which they were not entitled as part of the On-call Pay scandal. They were instructed by the Saratoga County DA to return the funds, which they both did. For reasons still unknown, the city returned the two women’s checks uncashed. Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi has refused to answer questions about how the money came to be returned, and she has failed to recover the money owed the city. In addition, Commissioner Sanghvi has never acknowledged that it was her office that inappropriately gave final approval to these payments.

A Narrative Of Incompetence And Cronyism

As readers will recall on February 21, 2023, the previous Saratoga Springs City Council under Mayor Ron Kim awarded a new benefit to compensate eligible Deputy Commissioners and the Deputy Mayor for being on-call.  The poorly crafted resolution, for various reasons, led to an investigation by the New York State Police.  The investigation revealed, among other things, that Deputy Accounts Commissioner Stacy Connors and then Deputy Mayor Angela Rella had improperly submitted requests for payment for periods not covered by the resolution.

The On-Call benefit was to begin on February 21, 2023 (see resolution at the end of this post). Both Rella and Connors requested pay for time allegedly spent on-call beginning in January of 2023 (see their time sheets at the end of this post). Setting aside the issue of whether these two Deputies or any of the others who collected this pay were actually ever performing on-call duties, the Rella and Coonors’ requests for pay before the benefit even began were a clear violation.

 Then Mayor Ron Kim and Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran signed off on these requests from their Deputies and the city’s Finance Department authorized the payments. I estimate that the total amount involved is $1,604.48.

This was a breakdown in the administration and oversight of payroll within the Finance Department. Under the city’s charter, the Finance Department is responsible for scrutinizing all invoices and requests for payment as a check on the other city departments.  There was a failure to adequately scrutinize Rella’s and Connors’ timesheets to confirm that they were eligible for payment.

Restitution

According to an article in the May 13, 2025, Times Union, the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office advised Stacy Connors that if she did not give back to the city the money she was paid before the On-call benefit even began, she was liable to be charged with petty larceny.  It is reasonable to assume Angela Rella received a similar notice.

Checks for $752.10 each were sent to the city by each of the attorneys representing the two to make restitution. 

For reasons unknown, the Finance Department did not deposit these checks. 

Despite repeated email requests, Minita Sanghvi, the Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance, has refused to disclose why her office refused to deposit the checks.

As it appears that Commissioner Sanghvi’s department has refused to accept the checks and has not implemented an alternative method of securing restitution, these two women will have received city money not rightfully theirs, and the city will have lost funds it is entitled to.

The Bizarre and Elusive Checks

In the Times Union article referenced above, Finance Commissioner Sanghvi’s deputy, Heather Crocker, received at least one of the checks.

She is quoted in the Times Union as follows:

“I’m accountable to the New York state comptroller,” Crocker wrote in an email to the city attorney on March24. “If we have an issue with improper payroll, the Finance Department must correct that, and include documentation in our records to explain to the auditors what happened and how it was resolved — e.g. a memo explaining the check, explaining why there is only one person’s check, a council approved resolution to correct the language that created the problem, etc. I am unable to show that with the information received thus far.”

This is particularly strange because the check she refers to was from Stacy Connors.  Connors and Crocker work in city offices directly across the hall from each other.  The distance between their respective chairs is less than fifty feet, and Connor’s name is on the check.

Crocker’s claim of ignorance does not seem credible.  Her alleged failure to inform herself of the check’s purpose by, at a minimum, engaging her colleague, Connors, seems very odd.

Commissioner Sanghvi Refuses Request To Explain Mysterious Checks

On June 18, 2025, I emailed Commissioner Sanghvi:

“Can you explain why the checks sent by Stacey Connors and Angella Rella as a result of the on-call have not been cashed?”

On June 22, 2025, Commissioner Sanghvi responded:

“Kindly speak to our City Attorney regarding this matter.”

On June 26, 2025, I emailed Sanghvi:

“I assume you are familiar with the section of the city charter describing the duties of the Commissioner of Finance, but I thought it would be helpful here to refer you to it.

4F Keeper of City financial records.  The Commissioner of Finance shall maintain complete and accurate financial records in accordance with standards established by the Comptroller of the State of New York and Section 4.3 of this charter.

As you were (are?) custodian of the checks from Stacy Connors and Angela Rella for, I believe roughly, $700.00 each, you are the person responsible for the handling of these checks.

If you are unsure about the purpose of these checks, you can walk across the hall to the Accounts Department and ask Ms. Connors why she wrote the check.  Similarly, you can call Congressman Paul Tonko’s office, where Ms. Rella works, and ask her.

I must ask, why does the City Attorney know about why these checks have apparently not been deposited and you do not?  This makes no sense on its face so I am looking forward to hearing from you. I ask again, why have both these checks not been deposited?”

The response to this email from Commissioner Sanghvi was an automatic reply informing me that her position is part-time and it may be some time before she can respond.

When I received no reply from Commissioner Sanghvi, I emailed her again on July 18, 2025, as follows:

I am disappointed you did not reply to my last email regarding the improper payments and restitution of money the city paid Stacy Connors and Angela Rella.

As you know in our form of government, as the Commissioner of Finance, you have the fiduciary responsibility of maintaining the integrity of the city’s finances. 

The final version of the resolution authorizing on-call pay adopted on February 21, 2023, states clearly, “The terms of this resolution shall take place on becoming effective on February 21, 2023.”

Ms. Rella claimed the entire year which included January 2, 2023 to February 21, 2023.

That calculates as follows:

7 weeks X $125.35 = $877.45

2 days X $25.07 = $50.14

Therefore, Ms. Rella owes the city $927.59. 

Ms. Connors claimed the period from January 9, 2023, to February 10, 2023 and February 20 to February 21.

That calculates as follows:

5 weeks X125.35 = $626.75

2 days X $25.07 = $50.14

Therefore Ms. Connors owes $676.89.

So the Finance Department improperly paid these two people $1,604.48.

As Finance Commissioner it is your fiduciary responsibility to recover this money for the city.

This issue is months old and the city has so far failed to recover the money.  Do you plan to pursue the return of this money?

This time I did not even get the automatic response reminding me that Commissioner Sanghvi’s position is only part-time and it may be some time before she replies.  I got silence.

Futile FOIL Request

Pursuing another track , I FOILed the city, requesting copies of the checks from Conners and Rella, along with any other related documents, emails, or texts regarding the handling of the checks.  The response included a series of emails with all the text redacted.  The FOIL response only provided the faces of the checks.  There was one brief letter from the law firm representing Rella.  The letter and check images are below.  The full response to my FOIL is attached as a PDF.

The following are the only unredacted documents from the FOIL that I received.  It is worth noting that by now, the checks are over ninety days old, making them invalid.

Final Summary

Basically, the fact that the Finance Department:

• improperly paid employees benefits for which they were not eligible
• received checks that apparently were meant as restitution which they have chosen not to deposit
• has failed to recover the money improperly paid to the employees

has been systematically hidden from the public.  FOIL requests for documents produced little of value.  Repeated requests of Commissioner Sanghvi for an explanation are not answered.

Without the assistance of a state agency to clarify what happened to the restitution checks and to advise the city how best to address the issues, the employees will be able to keep the city money to which they were not entitled and the city is deprived of money that should have been returned.

If Commissioner Sanghvi does not know how to fulfill her fiduciary responsibilities to the city she needs to reach out to the Comptroller for guidance.

Supporting Documents

The Resolution

The First Page of the Resolution

The image below is from the adopted resolution.  I have highlighted the key date in red. It establishes that the deputies were only eligible for on-call after February 21, 2024.

The Time Sheets

This is the sheet for Deputy Mayor Angela Rella for the first quarter of 2023.  It documents that she requested money from the city for a period not covered by the resolution.

This is the sheet for Accounts Deputy Stacy Connors for the first quarter of 2023.  It documents that she requested money from the city for a period not covered by the resolution.

For whatever reason, Saratoga Springs Democratic Mayoral candidate Michele Madigan has embraced a campaign of accusing this blogger of conspiring with Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll to victimize former Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub. She dismisses any suggestion that Golub is culpable of abusing his office by engaging the services of city employees, city equipment, and city materials to fix his clogged sink. This blogger has thoroughly reviewed this topic in the past. Unfortunately for Madigan, Coll, who had requested that the city’s Human Resources Department review the Golub matter, has released the result of that investigation. The report is clear. It confirms how Golub violated the city’s ethical norms (See below).

Golub Sues City

Attorney Brian C. Mahoney filed a “notice of claim” on August 15, 2025, on Golub’s behalf against the city of Saratoga Springs. This allows Golub to sue if he so chooses during the next six months.

The “notice” claims:

“…Jason Golub, was intentionally and maliciously investigated by the Saratoga Springs Police Department at the behest of Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety Time Coll.”

In fact, this blogger initiated the investigation by contacting the New York State Comptroller after being approached by two whistleblowers who had performed work on Golub’s home. The Comptroller’s office then referred the matter to law enforcement.

Golub’s lawyer’s claim contains several errors. The most damaging of which is the false statement: “Moreover, a previous inquiry in early 2024 into the matter by the City’s Human Resources department found no wrongdoing on the part of the claimant [Golub].”

In fact, the city’s Human Resources report on the findings of their investigation says the opposite. I have included the full report and encourage readers of this blog to read it.

It is rather astonishing that Golub’s attorney would assert that the Human Resources Department found no wrongdoing, given the actual report.

This is from their report:

[Redacted] allegation that he performed work at Mr. Golub’s private residence during work hours at the expense of the city is substantiated…..Based on the factual findings set forth above, it appears that Jason Golub and [redacted name] violated the Code of Ethics of the City.

Investigation Summary Report August 30, 2024

The entire report documents Golub’s use of city employees, city vehicles, city equipment, and city materials.

Blogger Drawn Into Potential Suit

In an email to me from Times Union reporter Wendy Liberatore, she informed me that she heard I was going to be deposed in this case.

On August 18, I was served with a “Litigation Hold Notice.” It instructed me to protect any emails, texts, and other relevant communications related to Golub’s potential suit. A friend who is an attorney was quite amused. He told me they could have just sent me the notice by registered mail instead of incurring the expense of paying someone to serve it to me physically, telling me that he thought they were trying to intimidate me.

Michele Madigan Calls Out The Blogger

The following is from the Michele Madigan for Mayor Facebook page. She continues to inaccurately describe what occurred at Jason Golub’s house and the judge’s ruling in the case (see the HR document below and previous blogs). In this posting she ventures into the dark world of imagined conspiracies . I am at a loss as to what she means by the blogger (me) being motivated by “political retribution.” Perhaps she will elaborate in future posts. I wonder if she will continue to pursue her energetic defense of Jason Golub after she reads the Human Resources report on Golub. Here are Madigan’s comments.

Here Is The Human Resources Report

For privacy reasons, the names have been redacted.

Most people are aware of the proverb that “a man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.” I might add my own proverb: “A man who lacks a law degree and experience at the bar who attempts to file legal papers with the court has more ego than judgment.”

Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran believes that he filed papers to begin an appeal of Judge James E. Walsh’s recent decision, which barred the city from reimbursing him for his legal bills. In fact, the papers he filed appealed former Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub’s decision. Moran is so confident that he successfully appealed his own case, even though he is not a lawyer, that he posted this on Facebook:

Not So Fast

On August 7, 2025, Dillon Moran visited the County Clerk in Ballston Spa and submitted a “notice of appeal”, ostensibly to appeal the decision by Judge James E. Walsh barring the city of Saratoga Springs from covering his legal expenses. He did so pro se, which is the legal term for a person who is not an attorney and is representing themselves.

He was required to submit the notice for his appeal by August 15, 2025. This would reserve his right to appeal the lawsuit for six months.

The source of Moran’s confusion, as he is not an attorney, is that there were actually two cases decided on by Walsh. One was to prevent the city from paying the legal bills for Moran and his Deputy, Stacy Connors, and the other was to prevent the city from paying the legal bills of Jason Golub and his Executive Assistant, Brooke Van Buskirk.

Both cases were combined in the original decision by Judge Walsh, as the issues regarding whether to pay both bills were similar. The document below is from Walsh’s decision. The reader will note that it is made clear that there are two cases (I have highlighted each with a box), and each has its own unique court index number. The case in the box on top is Moran’s. The case in the second box is Golub’s

This is a detail from the top of the form.

The index number on the case he was trying to appeal is not the one assigned to his case, but Golub’s case. So, Moran was unknowingly appealing the Golub case, not his own. The result of his error was that he failed to register the notice of appeal for his own case by the August 15 deadline, so it would appear he has lost his only avenue for recovering the costs of his legal bills.

The Courts

The problem is that if this goes forward, the only potential beneficiaries would be Jason Golub and Brooke VanBuskirk. The train left the station regarding Moran and Connors on August 15. So strictly speaking, Moran did appeal on time, but not for himself, and clearly by mistake.

The victory lap he allowed himself was more than a little premature.

Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran told area news media that he had initiated an appeal of Supreme Court Judge James Walsh’s recent decision, which ruled that the legal bills he incurred in the criminal investigation of the city’s on-call pay affair were not eligible for reimbursement by the city.

In yet another replay of the Kuczynski mess, where he and the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee failed to submit the proper paperwork on time to get Hank Kuczynski on the ballot for the DPW special election, Moran has missed the deadline to file the required papers for the appeal. Moran had thirty days from July 15, 2025, to file his notice to appeal.

According to Saratoga Springs Republican Chair Mike Brandi, “Moran has now permanently lost his right to appeal Walsh’s decision.”

I have observed Dillon committing these kinds of errors during his two terms in office. It sends a chill that if he can miss deadlines like these, imagine what problems within the Accounts Department may eventually come to light.

Several speakers came to the to the microphone during the public comment period at the August 5, 2025, Saratoga Springs City Council meeting to weigh in on the proposal Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran had on his agenda to have the city pay his and former Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub’s legal bills for criminal cases.

Among the speakers was Mayoral candidate Michele Madigan who addressed the Council in a hyper-partisan attack that is emblematic of her campaign. In response to criticism of her remarks, she issued an additional unfortunate statement on her Facebook page.

Madigan used both platforms to repeatedly claim without any evidence that criminal charges against former Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub were “baseless and politically motivated”. In addition Ms. Madigan went even further to make the hyperbolic claim that the city was falling victim to some kind of “dangerous pattern of political retaliation” by Republicans verging on authoritarianism. In the course of her 3 minutes at the microphone she managed to also attack the city’s police department, her fellow Democrat, Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll, and Supreme Court Judge James Walsh, as well as make numerous inaccurate statements about the city’s indemnification policy and decisions made by City Court Judge Jeffrey Wait.

Her performance at this Council meeting and her continued inappropriate and inaccurate postings on social media raise serious questions about her suitability for the office of Mayor.

Madigan’s Misstatements in Defense of Jason Golub

In this clip from her speech before the City Council, Madigan characterizes the charges brought against Jason Golub as baseless and politically driven. This is an accusation she repeated in her Facebook post the next day, where she claimed “his case was a politically motivated attack, fueled by John Kaufmann, the local GOP, and their allies, not by any legitimate concern for public safety or the law.” She goes on to claim incorrectly that “…the charges were thrown out.”

Ms. Madigan’s harsh accusation that Jason Golub was the victim of a “politically motivated attack” does not survive scrutiny. Readers will recall that two DPW workers visited Golub’s private home on two occasions to do plumbing work. The investigation that led to the misdemeanor charges was prompted by two whistleblowers who worked under Golub at the Department of Public Works and reported the incident to the police.

The facts are not in dispute. Golub himself never denied that this happened. His own Deputy, Joe O’Neil, pleaded guilty to similar charges involving this and another incident.

For Madigan to also characterize the resolution of Golub’s case as “the charges were thrown out” is particularly troubling. It suggests that the court somehow cleared Golub when, in fact, this was not the case.

In fact, City Court Judge Jeffrey Wait dismissed the charges because the charging document did not address whether Golub knew that the employees worked for the city and were doing work on his home during city time. Specifically, the dismissal was “without prejudice,” meaning that the prosecution could amend their charge and proceed to trial. There is nothing here that supports Golub’s innocence.

It is hard to believe that Mr. Golub, who holds a law degree from Columbia University, was oblivious to the fact that having his employees work on his private residence during work hours was, at the very least, potentially inappropriate. To dismiss charges that Jason Golub’s foolish and potentially criminal use of city employees was simply “baseless and politically motivated” raises questions about Madigan’s judgment.

That Ms. Madigan, who is seeking to be Mayor of this city, chooses to repeat the false narrative that Golub was the victim of a racist, vindictive attack by the Saratoga Springs Police Department and Commissioner Coll is deeply troubling.

Did Madigan Flip-Flop on Paying Moran’s Legal Bill?

In my previous blog, I wrote that Madigan’s support for paying Dillon Moran’s attorney fees at the August 5 Council meeting represented a change from her earlier position when she had opposed this.

In her Facebook post entitled “Setting the Record Straight: What I Said–and Did Not Say–on August 5,” Madigan stated:

“Let me be clear on my own record:

*I did not support the City Council’s 4-1 vote that created on-call pay

*I have not spoken in favor of indemnifying Dillon Moran.”

I don’t know of anyone, including myself, who ever suggested that then Supervisor Madigan supported on-call pay, so I’m not quite sure why she felt she had to mention this and include a video of her remarks at that January 2024 meeting when the then Democratic majority approved that controversial pay increase to Deputies’ salaries.

On the other hand, I believe a reasonable person listening to Madigan’s remarks from August 5 might well think that she was defending Dillon Moran’s demand that the city pay his six figure legal bills. Here is the clip for you, the readers, to decide.

This clip also documents Ms. Madigan’s misunderstanding of the city’s indemnification policy, a misunderstanding shared by the chair of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee and the 2 or 3 members of the committee, including their Public Works candidate, who also spoke during the public comment period. Like Ms. Madigan, they all shared the misunderstanding that somehow the Council had a choice of whether or not to pay Moran’s and Golub’s bills, as city policy allowed for that. Madigan refers to the city “refusing to indemnify [Jason] even though our city code clearly says he should be.” At another point, she claims that Judge Walsh “overturned a legal Council vote to hire legal counsel.” The problem is that the previous Council’s vote to pay these bills was not legal, as the city code does not cover fees in criminal cases. Judge Walsh confirmed this in his decision. To characterize the city code as “clearly” providing indemnification is representative of her pattern of being careless with her facts.

As pointed out in my last blog, the city code currently covers the legal costs of city officials and employees for civil matters only. Both Moran and Golub were involved in criminal cases. Clearly, neither Madigan nor the other Democrats who passionately spoke had bothered to do their homework first.

I think most people are concerned and leery of the potential for the politicization of our courts. It would be prudent, however, before cavalierly dismissing Judge Walsh’s decision, that Ms. Madigan offer some explanation as to why she believes his decision was flawed. Partisan attacks on the courts that lack supporting analysis only serve to further poison the political environment.

Madigan Goes Mega MAGA

In this clip, Madigan’s remarks verge on hysteria as she claims Saratoga is on the brink of becoming an authoritarian state. Does anyone really believe that Mayor Safford is a tool of Mike Brandi in a plot to install an authoritarian regime in Saratoga Springs? Apparently, Madigan does.

Deciding Who Is A Democrat

In the meantime, Madigan has given herself the authority to decide who is a Democrat and who is not. In this clip, Ms. Madigan expels Tim Coll from the Democratic Party. According to her, there is a Republican majority on the City Council, when in fact there are three registered Democrats who are all running together with her on the Democratic slate. I’m not quite sure what her litmus test is to be a “true” Democrat. I have previously observed the cult nature of the local Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee. Ms. Madigan’s sectarianism is divisive and only further undermines the civil respect that is key to thoughtful Council deliberations.

Changing Indemnification Coverage Already in the Works

I do agree with one of the statements Madigan made on Facebook. She wrote:

If the code can’t protect officials acting in good faith from targeted legal harassment, it’s the code that needs to change.

This change is already moving forward. A proposal to change the city’s policy for indemnification was on Mayor Safford’s agenda last Tuesday night. He has set a pubic hearing for the next Council meeting to hear comments on a proposed resolution to indemnify future officials in criminal cases if the official is determined to be not guilty. Following the hearing, it is expected to be adopted. Unfortunately for Moran and Golub, this is not retroactive. 

Where Are Saratoga Politics Headed?

I believe that most voters are starved for a tempered campaign that eschews drama and partisan extremes. Regrettably, Madigan’s statements are a sorry example of our current convulsive political environment. With a decisive edge in Democratic voter enrollment, her strategy of waving a red “MAGA” hat in the face of voters to exploit their fears is alarming. I found the tone and content of her presentation at the recent Council meeting troubling. I am concerned that the hyper-partisan rhetoric she is employing in her campaign for Mayor reflects an inability or unwillingness to work collegially with fellow Council members with whom she may disagree and to govern the city with dignity, fairly representing its diverse residents with various political opinions and affiliations. I leave it to my readers to decide for themselves.

The full, unedited video of her remarks is included below.

Unedited Video Of Ms. Madigan’s Remarks

At its meeting on August 5, 2025, the Saratoga Springs City Council rejected an attempt by Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran to have them appeal a ruling that barred paying his and former Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub’s legal bills.

Into The Weeds for A Little Background

Many years ago, the city adopted a resolution regarding the indemnification of city employees and officials in civil matters. That is to say, the city established that an employee or official charged with a civil complaint would be eligible for the city to pick up the cost of legal representation. It did not address criminal matters.

For years, the city had the opportunity to adopt a section of state law that would have made city employees and officials eligible for indemnification in criminal matters as well, but successive City Councils never did so.

Nevertheless, the Democratic majority at the time on the City Council (Moran, Golub, and Sanghvi) voted to pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills that Democratic Commissioner Moran had accrued during the New York State Police investigation into OnCall pay, which was a criminal investigation.

Judge Walsh’s decision ruled that, as the city’s locally adopted indemnification policy only addressed civil charges, neither Dillon Moran nor Jason Golub was eligible for the city to pay their legal bills, since their cases involved criminal charges.

To address this lack of coverage in criminal matters, the City Council has scheduled a public hearing for its next meeting on plans to replace the local law with two sections of state law that would, going forward, indemnify employees and officials for both civil and criminal charges.

Unfortunately for Golub and Moran, as their bills predate the adoption of this law and their cases involved a criminal investigation, they are not eligible to have their bills paid. The Council voted 3 to 1 against appealing Judge Walsh’s ruling, with Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi absent and only Moran voting in favor.

Moran: Is It A Problem With His Memory Or His Honesty?

In an earlier post, I wrote about Moran’s repeated failure to follow the policy of posting proposed actions on the Council agenda on the Friday before Council meetings. I noted this is important so the public and fellow Council members can be given time to understand the significance of pending legislation. This week, Moran once again waited until the last minute to add his resolution to Tuesday’s agenda, and he failed to attach copies of the bills generated by his and Golub’s attorneys to the agenda for public and Council review.

To confuse his colleagues, add chaos to the deliberations, and divert criticism for his failure to properly attach his attorney bills to the agenda, he made a rambling attack, asserting that somehow the City Attorney was to blame for his lack of transparency.

Moran is like dealing with a recalcitrant teenager. When the attack on the City Attorney failed to gain traction, he asserted instead that the city had never posted attorney bills with agenda items so this wasn’t a problem.

The problem is that what Dillon confidently asserted was wrong. There are numerous examples of legal bills attached to agendas. Here are legal bills attached to an earlier request for payment that appeared on the Council’s agenda.

Moran’s Attempt To Get His Bills Paid Wasn’t Even Crafted Properly

In addition, Moran failed to bring to the table the additional resolutions required to fund an appeal. This would have required two legislative actions including a budget amendment to properly access the necessary city funds. Moran has never been one for details. He tends to throw together the resolutions he brings to the table without doing proper research or getting proper legal advice.

Moran’s Conflict of Interest

Moran also appears to be oblivious to the concept of a “conflict of interest.” At the August 5 meeting, Moran moved that the city pursue an appeal of Judge Walsh’s decision in order to allow the city to pay his legal bills. This was a clear conflict of interest. To add insult to injury, he also voted to approve his own resolution for the appeal. Since he also cast the deciding vote with the previous Council when they initially agreed to pay his exorbitant bill, this is no surprise. It is the way Dillon Moran does city business.

Toxic Attack On Lisa Ribis

Dillon Moran had many angry ramblings at Tuesday night’s meeting. Among the most odious and bizarre was his rant which revisited his false claims against his former and now deceased employee, Lisa Ribis.

I have written earlier about Moran’s unscrupulous attempt to blame Lisa Ribis for the on-call pay scandal. At the August 5 meeting, he, for some reason, revisited all his false claims, including that he fired Ribis for altering the minutes for on-call. His slurs at this meeting were entirely gratuitous, having nothing to do with the resolution on the table regarding the appeal of Judge Walsh’s decision. It was just another example of how illogical and toxic his rants often are. It’s as if he lives in his own magical universe, where he creates facts on the fly to support whatever he wants.

Lisa Ribis is deceased and cannot defend herself.

Madigan Waded Into the Fray to Support Moran

To add even more drama at this Council meeting, Democratic candidate for Mayor Michele Madigan left her seat at the Supervisors’ table in the Council chamber and stepped up to the microphone to give her full-throated support to paying Moran’s bills. She characterized anyone who would oppose paying Moran’s bills as somehow being part of an authoritarian MAGA campaign.

This was, interestingly, the direct opposite of her position just last year when she herself was one of those people opposed to paying these same bills. This is what she wrote when Moran’s legal bills were coming before the Council not that long ago

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 28, 2025

Saratoga Lake Homeowners Launch Website Demanding NYS DOT Honor Six-Year-Old Promise

NYSDOT-BrokenPromises.com chronicles ongoing dispute over destroyed lake access following emergency road repair

SARATOGA LAKE, NY – Four homeowners who lost their only safe access to their private lakefront property during a 2019 state emergency roadrepair have launched a website to pressure New York State to fulfill its written promise to restore their access.

The website, NYSDOT-BrokenPromises.com, details how the New York State Department of Transportation (NYS DOT) demolished the homeowners’ stairs to their docks while constructing an emergency retaining wall on Route 9P, then failed to replace them despite documented assurances.

“Six years ago, we cooperated fully when the state needed to address a dangerous road collapse,” said Peter Hopper, president of the Spruce Ridge Association, the neighbors’ HOA. “NYS DOT promised in writing to replace our stairs. Today, we still can’t safely access our own property.”

The emergency began in 2018 when large sections of Route 9P pavement broke away and slid 20 feet onto the homeowners’ docks below. After Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner alerted NYS DOT to the hazard, the agency constructed a 12-foot-high, 200-foot-long retaining wall in May 2019, destroying the existing stairs in the process.

Despite multiple meetings and correspondence over six years, NYS DOT has offered only a fraction of the replacement cost and insists the homeowners—all retirees—manage the complex engineering and construction on the steep terrain themselves.

“We’re not engineers or construction experts,” Hopper said. “The state has the expertise and resources to rebuild what they destroyed. We’re simply asking them to keep their word.”

The homeowners have contacted Governor Hochul and NYS DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez, requesting their intervention. Those efforts generated no significant response. 

“We’ve exhausted all other options,” said neighbor Charlie Murphy. “We’re four middle-class retirees in an exhausting fight with New York State, hoping public pressure will finally make them do the right thing.”

For more information, visit NYSDOT-BrokenPromises.com.

Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran is a serial violator of transparency. No other previous Council member in the history of this city has so often failed to post planned resolutions on the City Council agenda in a timely manner that would give his fellow Council members and the public time to give his proposals sufficient consideration.

The most recent last-minute posting concerns Moran’s demand that the city appeal Judge Walsh’s recent decision, which holds that because Moran hired his lawyer regarding a criminal matter (as compared to a civil matter), he is not entitled to have his legal expenses paid by the city. Readers may recall that, rather than consulting his fellow Council members, Moran went ahead and hired a Manhattan attorney at $1,200 per hour to represent him during the on-call pay scandal investigation.

Moran failed to include this item on his agenda for the upcoming Council meeting that was posted on the city website on Friday. He didn’t bother to raise the issue of an appeal at the pre-agenda meeting on Monday morning. Yet at 11:14 AM, moments after the pre-agenda meeting had adjourned and before Moran had even posted this item at the last minute on his agenda, Otis Maxwell, the chair of the Saratoga Springs Democratic Party, sent out an email blast to mobilize committee members to attend the Council meeting in support of Moran.

I leave it to the readers as to why Moran behaves this way.

But the other question is why the Democratic Committee behaves this way. The Committee repeatedly mobilizes to support whatever position Commissioner Moran takes without ever questioning or conducting their own research into the veracity of the information he provides. I feel this is no longer the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee but has become instead the Saratoga Springs Dillon Moran Committee.

This is a link to a CNN video of the face of starvation in Gaza. I’m sure the readers do not need to see graphic video of starving children to convince them that the use of starvation in Gaza is wrong.

While I sympathize with the fear of attack that Israelis are experiencing, the deprivation of food for the two million people living in Gaza cannot be defended. Israel can only continue this horror with the support of our country. Polls consistently show that this kind of cruelty is opposed by most Americans, demonstrating the fundamental decency of people. Yet, the policy of cruelty continues to enjoy bipartisan support in Washington.

How have we come to this?

A proposed ordinance to restrict “camping” on city-owned property unleashed a torrent of anger from some members of the public during a marathon meeting of the Saratoga Springs City Council on July 1, 2025, that saw the public hearing lasting over three hours. While many who spoke against the ordinance were well-meaning and no doubt saw themselves as defending the most vulnerable in our community, their comments often reflected a lack of awareness of the resources the city is currently devoting to address homelessness and an unfortunate misconception that the purpose of the ban was to criminalize and incarcerate the homeless.

The ordinance prohibits anyone from sleeping, lying, or sitting on city property, including public sidewalks, street medians, public parking garages, and parking lots. Blankets, tarps, sleeping bags, milk crates, chairs, and tables cannot be placed on city property.

An Event Reflecting The Caring World Of Saratoga Springs

One of the admirable qualities of Saratoga Springs is its citizens’ unusual commitment to and involvement in their community. This commitment was evident in the number of people who turned out to speak about the ordinance during the public hearing that took up over three hours of the almost five-hour meeting.

I was struck by the earnestness of many of those who spoke against the resolution. While a few of the speakers indulged in irate attacks on Mayor Safford, Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll, and Public Works Commissioner Chuck Marshall, who supported the resolution, most were courteous and restrained, even if often misinformed.

Myths That Subvert

The recurring themes of those who spoke in opposition to the ordinance were:

1. The city has done little to address the needs of the city’s homeless population.

2. The purpose of the ban on camping on city-owned property was to criminalize and incarcerate the homeless.

Here are just two examples:

These speakers and others who voiced the same criticisms appeared to be completely unaware of the resources the city is currently devoting to this challenging issue.

Saratoga Springs annually spends $500,000.00 of local tax revenue on the homeless. Additionally, the city allocates hundreds of thousands of discretionary federal dollars to address homelessness issues. These same elected officials who were the subject of withering criticism on July 1 (Safford, Coll, Marshall) have supported the appropriation of these substantial sums. You would never know this from the statements criticizing them at the public hearing.

No other city in this region, many of which have a much larger tax base than Saratoga Springs, spends any local money to maintain shelters for their homeless population. That includes Albany, Schenectady, Glens Falls, and Rensselaer. Most of these cities have private missions that rely on funding from state and federal governments, as well as private donations.

In addition to funding the RISE shelter, part of the city’s annual contribution of $500,000 is directed to funding the city’s Outreach Court (formally known as the Homeless Court), overseen by Judge Vero, who works closely with RISE (the not-for-profit that runs one of the city’s shelters). The very purpose of this court is to provide Judge Vero with an alternative to the incarceration of the homeless who appear before her on a variety of charges. That’s right, the purpose of her court is to try to keep the men and women who come before her out of jail. Judge Vero has enjoyed the enthusiastic support of Safford, Coll, and Marshall.

In addition, under the Public Safety Commissioner, Tim Coll, the city Police Department has established a “peer-to-peer” program in collaboration with RISE. A RISE staff person is embedded with the police to assist in dealing with homeless individuals the police encounter. The department also maintains an ongoing relationship with Shelters of Saratoga, which currently provides housing for the homeless during the winter months.

These steps are not sufficient to resolve homelessness, but to characterize the supporters of the controversial bill as seeking to address homelessness by putting everyone in jail is patently false and unfair.

Protecting Credibility

It is one thing to argue that the city is not doing enough. It is quite another to carry on an impassioned crusade that ignores both reality and a thoughtful path to solutions. Many of those who testified at the public hearing seemed simply incapable of acknowledging both the major initiatives the city has been pursuing or of conceding that the promoters of the “camping” resolution might be sincerely concerned about the dreadful conditions of many people living on our city’s streets. What these people do not understand is that by misrepresenting the city’s response to homelessness, they undermine their own credibility and effectiveness.

A Plague Of Disinformation

The confusion of many who oppose the resolution is understandable, given some of the postings that have appeared on social media.

In particular, Democratic Mayoral candidate Michele Madigan’s Facebook page is a major promoter of a false narrative with statements like:

“Now the City Council under The Republican majority voted 3-2 (along party lines) not to provide more resources, not to support our low barrier shelter, but to target [JK: for arrest] unhoused residents just as track season begins.

Michele Madigan July 3, 2025

This comment is problematic not only for Madigan’s inaccurate characterization of the vote’s meaning, but also for her attempt to make the vote a partisan issue. As Ms. Madigan well knows, one of the three yes votes was Tim Coll. While Coll was endorsed in 2023 by the local Republican Committee, he is a registered Democrat and has been endorsed this year by the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee. She will be running on the Democratic line with him in November.

RISE has not been helpful either. Their poorly considered threat to close their shelter just before the Belmont unless they were funded for another year gratuitously upped the temperature and was meant to portray the city as the enemy. It is a testament to the integrity of Safford, Coll, and Marshall that they are still working on funding RISE in next year’s budget. These officials are able to rise above such provocative behavior in the interest of the homeless and the city.

Saratoga Springs Cannot Solve Homelessness on Its Own.

In the early seventies, New York State closed its facilities for the severely mentally ill and had a supposed plan to set up small homes throughout the state to encourage better incorporation into communities and help promote independence.

This was all really a sham. The real purpose was to save money. Very few homes were ever set up. The number of mentally ill homeless people mushroomed.

The state also established what were meant to be protections against the forced institutionalization of the mentally ill. This also ended up contributing to the dramatic increase in homelessness, particularly among those struggling with mental illness.

The trend of high construction costs further exacerbates the problem of homelessness. The cost of homes and rent has skyrocketed.

Finding affordable and accessible land in Saratoga Springs for a shelter is also a huge barrier. Past proposals for multiple sites for a homeless shelter have been successfully opposed by neighbors. A committee set up under former Mayor Ron Kim selected a controversial site out along Route 29 for a facility. Nothing ever happened with that project. One homeless advocate on the committee opposed the location because of its distance from downtown.

Given the dearth of facilities for the homeless, finding quality housing is a huge problem not only in Saratoga Springs but throughout the world.

Providing Proper Services Is A Real Challenge

The problem of homelessness is a Gordian knot that will not be untied easily. There are very disturbed people who are homeless, and the current facilities and resources that are available locally cannot properly help.

The reality is that some very disturbed individuals on the streets of Saratoga Springs are belligerent and potentially dangerous to others and to themselves. Shelters of Saratoga, as well as the low-barrier facility RISE, lack the staff and facilities to adequately address the increasing demand for services and shelter.

Even RISE, which has the most liberal policy for accepting the most challenging of the homeless, turns people away. I have been told that RISE has rejected clients from Albany and sent them back there by bus. Other clients with severe anti-social behavior are denied shelter at the RISE facility, and RISE uses the police to deal with these people, characterizing them as trespassers.

What Can Be Done?

It is an illusion that the city can solve our homelessness problem on its own. We need to face this difficult situation honestly. Demagogues may play on people’s concern for justice, but what this community needs to do is ask some hard questions about how best to ameliorate the state of homelessness, rather than presume we can eliminate it.