The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors will not be meeting in April as required by their bylaws. As far as I can tell, this is the first time ever that the Supervisors have not met for their regular monthly meeting. In fact, whoever canceled the meeting (it is presumed that Preston Allen, the chair of the Board of Supervisors did it) didn’t even bother to send out a notice to the Supervisors of the cancellation. This means that if, and that is a big if, they meet in May they will have gone two months without a meeting. Their calendar, posted on their website, has had all the dates for sub committee meetings removed as well.

During this historic crisis there have been no meeting minutes posted on the county’s website since their last meeting on March 17. Officially then the county legislature has turned out the lights.

The contrast to Saratoga Springs government is quite stunning. Our city adheres to the Open Meetings Law so scrupulously that three or more members of the Council never get together to talk because that would constitute a quorum which would require proper notice to the public. They do have emergency meetings but in the event the Council convenes, the public and the press are notified and within days, a video of their meeting is posted.

In light of the requirement that the Board of Supervisors meet monthly I tried to find out who canceled all the meeting. Based on their comments at the last city council meeting, our two Supervisors appear to be completely ignorant about how and why the April meeting was canceled.

So one wonders who is running the County? The best guess is the five person “special committee” (it still has no name) that has been blundering through salary changes. It includes Supervisor Preston Allen, two other Supervisors, County Administrator Spencer Hellwig, and Human Resources Director Marcy McNamara.

The eleven Supervisors who wrote to Chair Preston Allen and who represent 72% of the population/weighted vote in the County are one vote short of the required twelve votes to compel a special meeting. So a group of twelve Supervisors representing the small towns in the County and with a tiny percentage of weight were there to be a vote on a policy, are blocking the special meeting. Chair Preston Allen represents the town of Day. He represents a weighted vote of 879, the population of the town he represents .

In a release from the Saratoga County Libertarian Party, its chair Rob Arrigo pretty much sums up the situation.

“[Chair of the Board of Supervisor Preston] Allen and [County Administrator Spencer] Hellwig are using the crisis to hold democracy hostage;” said Rob Arrigo Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Saratoga County.  “Municipalities all over the state have found ways to hold regularly scheduled meetings, including Saratoga Springs which has held virtual city council meetings.  The County Leadership needs to find a way to immediately return to regular order.”

Rob Arrigo, Chair of the Saratoga Libertarian Party

An Extreme Violation of the Open Meetings Law

All of this is made possible because Saratoga County government flaunts the Open Meetings Law. Any official body making substantive decisions is required to notify the public of when they are going to meet. They must provide the public a vehicle for observing the meeting. Most importantly, they must publish the deliberations of the body at a location available to the public. None of this is being done by the committee the Board of Supervisors unanimously authorized to make staffing and payroll decisions during this COVID crisis.

The City Council Questions Our County Supervisors

At the last Saratoga Springs City Council meeting, Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton and Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan both asked pointed questions of Supervisors Matthew Veitch and Tara Gaston. While the two Supervisors expressed their opposition to the decisions made by the County regarding the employee raise debacle, they seemed quite lost as to what is going on at the County.

These are videos from the April 7 meeting of the council that focus on the questioning of the supervisors.

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Full text of Libertarian Release

For Immediate Release

Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Refuses to Meet

In wake of emergency pay raise scandal County Admin and BOS Chair cancel meeting

Ballston Spa— For Immediate Release — In early March the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors established an emergency committee.  This committee meets in secret, has no name and no oversight. The committee of 5 was established to take emergency action during the Covid-19 Pandemic during the period of time between regularly scheduled meetings of the board of supervisors. 

This committee immediately used its power to establish 50% pay raises, at a cost of $325,000/week, for 380 essential employees, including salaried management personnel. 

After massive public pressure, and a revolt of the 10 Supervisors whom never intended for this power to be used under current conditions, the pay raise was rolled back for elected officials, management personnel and field employees, and left in place for emergency “command center” employees. The Committee of 5 includes BOS Chair Preston Allen of the Town of Day, County Administrator Spencer Hellwig, Director of HR Marcy McNamara, Supervisor Pemerick of Greenfield and Supervisor Wood of the Town of Saratoga.  It’s worth noting that Hellwig and McNamara originally received the raise along with various elected officials, DMV employees and other clerical and HR staff who continued working through the Governor’s PAUSE order.
Emergency Meeting Refused

In late March a group of Supervisors representing 72% of the County’s weighted vote repeatedly demanded an emergency meeting to resolve the pay raise issue.  Chairman Allen blocked that effort leaving Sheriff’s deputies, Nurses, Social Services Workers and other front-line field employees in limbo while call center employees continued received 50% pay raises.

Regular Meeting Canceled

            Despite assertion by Preston Allen and Spencer Hellwig that the pay raise scandal would be addressed, the regular April 21 meeting has been quietly removed from the County BOS calendar with no notification or justification to Supervisors.  Allen and Hellwig have not made a statement or justified the cancelation. 

“Allen and Hellwig are using the crisis to hold democracy hostage;” said Rob Arrigo Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Saratoga County.  “Municipalities all over the state have found ways to hold regularly scheduled meetings, including Saratoga Springs which has held virtual city council meetings.  The County Leadership needs to find a way to immediately return to regular order;” said Arrigo.

Going Forward

The Committee of 5 cannot be stopped without a meeting of the Board of Supervisors.  Town of Clifton Park Supervisor Phil Barrett is leading a group representing 72% of the weighted vote in the County to reign in this reckless activity and proactively adjust the budget to reflect the precipitous drop in sales tax revenue, as well as the probability that the 2020 Saratoga Flat Track Meet will be canceled or severely curtailed. 

The Libertarian County Committee joins these fiscally responsible Supervisors in calling for an immediate emergency meeting of the board and a return to regular order.

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For more information, press only:

Craig Berndt, Vice Chair Libertarian Committee of Saratoga County

SaratogaLPNY@gmail.com

After being rebuffed by Saratoga County’s Department of Social Services in their search for safe housing for the homeless, Shelters of Saratoga (SOS) got help from Saratoga Springs Mayor Kelly to secure a place.

There are excellent stories on this by Wendy Liberatore in the Times Union, by staff at the Saratogian, and by Steve Williams in the Gazette.

Karen Gregory, the Executive Director of SOS, repeatedly requested assistance in finding temporary housing for the homeless from the County DSS only to be rebuffed.

“I made several requests to Saratoga County to move our shelters into a local hotel before someone was symptomatic or tested positive for COVID-19. I was told over and over again that would not be possible until somebody tested positive, although I explained at that point it would be too late and I was afraid we would have a shelter full of very sick people including my staff. Ultimately, I did not want anyone to die.”

Karen Gregory from SOS press release

Tina Potter, the Commissioner of the Saratoga County Department of Social Services, defended her actions to the Times Union:

“I provided to her all the regulations and guidance that we have received from the (state) Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the CDC and the New York State Department of Health. … What that said was non-symptomatic people currently in shelter should remain in shelter. … It indicated it is important to have rooms available for use by people who are directed to be quarantined and it would not be appropriate to move non-symptomatic, non-quarantined people into the hotel rooms we may need for individuals who are symptomatic.”

Tina Potter, Commissioner of Saratoga County Department of Social Services

The problem is that at the current shelter beds are quite close together which conflicts with the other New York State advisory that people should practice “Social Distancing.”

Homeless people are not only at increased risk but they can put the rest of the community at increased risk should they get sick. I really hate to point out the cost efficiency issue here as for me the moral imperative is the real issue. Nevertheless, what do readers of this blog think the cost of hospitalizing one homeless person stricken with the virus would be as compared to putting up forty people at a discount at the Holiday Inn? How many homeless people would contract the disease if they were crammed together in the shelter and one of them became infected? What about the additional stress on Saratoga Hospital and its staff?

“Our number one priority is the health and safety of people we are helping each day. Social distancing and hygiene is the only way to slow the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, people experiencing homelessness don’t have the ability to stay home. People experiencing homelessness don’t have regular access to sinks where they can wash their hands and those staying at homeless shelters can’t always remain six feet from another person. There are simply too many people and not enough space.”

Karen Gregory, SOS Executive Director

Is Commissioner Potter one of those “essential” County employees being paid time and a half during this crisis?

So what did Mayor Kelly (who makes $14,500.00/year) do when approached by Ms. Gregory for help? Of course she threw herself into problem solving mode.

“For our city, this was not a high enough standard [JK : the standard set by the County] I’m proud that Saratoga Springs is joining a short, but growing list of communities across the country prepared to prevent infection and spread among our homeless population by using hotels to practice social distancing and enable access to adequate hygiene, hand washing, and quarantine. This will save lives.”

Mayor Meg Kelly

In a news release issued by SOS, Gregory praised the Mayor for her help. Mayor Kelly promised help and the next morning the two started going “door to door” seeking a hotel.

They found a partner in the Holiday Inn.

Kevin Tuohy, general manager of the local Holiday Inn, bought in. Tuohy was originally from here and returned last year to manage the Holiday Inn.

A little history. In 1961 when the economy of Saratoga Springs was especially low, a group was established to provide quality lodging in the city. Money was raised and the Holiday Inn was born.

“In 1961, the idea of a community hotel in Saratoga Springs was born. While asking for donations from locals, the founders of the hotel stated that ‘change can impact a community in a positive way. Fifty-six years later, we are incredibly proud to have the opportunity to change the way we operate to support the Saratoga Springs community in this time of unprecedented crisis.”

Kevin Touhy

Do We Live In A Great City Or What??

This title is a bit inaccurate as Saratoga Hospital will be accepting patients from other communities in our state as well as New York City as the need arises.

I applaud Commissioner Dalton’s and Mayor Kelly’s letter. All New Yorkers are our neighbors. With hospitals in New York City overwhelmed and the courageous doctors and staff being pressed to the breaking point, we reach out our hand.

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This is a link to a WNYT news story on Saratoga Springs Police and Fire honoring Saratoga Hospital staff (This video did not embed. Maybe WNYT is blocking this function?).

Let’s all practice social distancing, hand washing, etc. Remember that our failure to protect ourselves puts the people who must save us into danger.

Attend From Home: The City Council will be meeting via Zoom throughout this period of social distancing. Find out how you can stay connected.

In Saratoga Springs:

Tuesday’s City Council meeting will be held virtually on Zoom and streamed on the City’s website for live-viewing.  

Members of the public can also participate in the Public Hearings via Zoom, and submit public comments to the Council via email.

Playground & recreation equipment have been closed.  

City parks are NOT closed. They are open and available for residents to enjoy – getting fresh air and being outside safely is important for everyone’s overall well-being and mental health.

Whether you are in a park, downtown, or in your neighborhood, social distancing measures should always be followed to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

It is hard to avoid hyperbole in describing the descent of Saratoga County’s government into chaos.

The County has now retroactively withdrawn the 50% raises for all but forty employees. They are going to recover any moneys of the now unlucky employees of the County who may or may not have actually gotten that money in a pay check yet.

The Deputies in the Sheriff’s Department had been required to agree to not take any outside employment as part of the original bonus agreement. Apparently, while the money is being withdrawn, they are still going to hold the Deputies to the work limit provision.

In the meantime, the employees who will continue to receive these moneys are part of something they are calling the COVID-19 Command Center.

So I went to the Saratoga County website and attempted to look up the COVID-19 Command Center. The search turned up one hit. What was that hit?

It was a single sentence from a statement by Preston Allen, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, regarding the County’s efforts to combat the virus. In his statement he assured the public that:

The only employees getting time and a half are those who are working in our COVID-19 command center. This group varies day to day but is on average staffed with 40 employees.

Preston Allen

What are the duties, responsibilities, and activities of those working in this “command center?” There is nothing on the website to tell us. Who are the 40 employees staffing this “command center” who are enjoying this time and a half pay and what are their positions? Nothing.

While there is no number listed to call the “command center” there is a County COVID-19 hotline number listed. I decided to call it. Granted, I was calling it at 8:00 PM, but one of the reasons given for the raises was the 24/7 burden the County was enduring in dealing with this crisis. I let the phone ring for over five minutes. Not only did no one answer the phone but there wasn’t even a recorded message. Further research uncovered that the hotline operates from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

The County Takes On Its Morale Problem

In a previous post I documented the disparaging remarks about county employees made by the Saratoga County Human Resource Director, Marcie McNamara.

It is truly hard to imagine what granting a generous pay raise to the County staff and then not only withdrawing the raise but clawing back any money they may have already gotten will have.

So what did the County do to attempt to address the morale problem? They paid an Albany based public relations firm to issue a press release and produce a video. You can try to access the video through the link in the release, but you will learn that you need a password to view it.

The following is the press release. I don’t think the release needs any analysis from me except to note the presence of bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman. It speaks for itself. The only thing missing is what the County, that is what we, the taxpayers, paid for it.

For Immediate Release

March 31, 2020

Media Contact: Ridge Harris, 518-378-6530

SARATOGA COUNTY WORKFORCE GETS THANKS FROM NFL LEGEND, REALITY TV STAR, AND LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS

Ballston Spa, NY – Saratoga County employees and others working on the front lines to stop the spread of COVID-19 today received a round of thank you messages from local elected officials and nationally recognized figures.

“On behalf of the community I’d like to thank you and your attempts to keep our neighborhood and our families safe,” said NFL Hall of Famer Bill Parcells, a Saratoga County resident and former head coach of the New York Giants.

“Words ‘thank you,’ ‘good job,’ and ‘atta boy’ are not near what you deserve,” said Duane “Dog” Chapman, star of the reality TV show Dog the Bounty Hunter.

The video included messages from county, state and federal elected officials directed to the county workforce who are working around the clock to support their neighbors during this pandemic.

VIDEO LINK: Saratoga County: COVID-19 Workforce THANK YOU!

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Don’t Blame Everyone Associated With County Government For This

It would be unfair to blame everyone serving on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors for this debacle. While the original vote that created this debacle was unanimous, ten Supervisors have written several times to Chair Preston Allen calling for a meeting to address all this. Unfortunately, although they represent a majority of the Board of Supervisors’ weighted vote [for most business conducted, a Supervisor’s vote is recorded as the population of the town/city they represent] and could pass a resolution, to force a special meeting a majority of the actual number of Supervisors is needed. To date they have been unable to secure the 12 votes needed for this. It’s quite stunning and sad, I think, that given the degree of ineptitude the County has exhibited in dealing with this crisis that not even half of the Saratoga County Supervisors apparently see this as a problem.

It is also critical to acknowledge that there are many highly dedicated people who work for the County. It is unfortunate that they should suffer because of the stunning ineptitude of the management.

All of this Is Rooted in the Violation of the Open Meetings Law

The reason we know so little about all of this is that the Board of Supervisors has transferred its power to make staffing and payroll decisions to a special committee that meets entirely in secret.

One odd item in Chair Preston Allen’s public statement was his description of the committee.

In accordance with the resolution adopted by our Board of Supervisors, I hold a weekly meeting of the Chairs of our Law and Finance and Human Resource Committees and County Administration to determine the effectiveness of the current employee matrix, and it is adjusted accordingly to maximize the work we do for you while protecting taxpayer money.

Preston Allen

The resolution establishing the committee included Human Resources Director Marcie McNamara, who originally benefitted from the committee’s payroll decision, as a member. Her name is now absent. Has she been expunged from the committee?

Without any notice of when this very powerful committee meets or any record of what happens at their meetings, the public is left in the dark about what decisions are being made as to how to use tax dollars and County staff to address this crisis.

Press Statement

March 31, 2020
Restoration of VLT Aid in the 2020-20201 Budget Process
Contact: michele.madigan@saratoga-springs.org or 518-526-9377

Today the City of Saratoga Springs received news that the elimination of VLT aid to all municipalities outside of Yonkers was rejected/omitted by the NYS Assembly and Senate. The restoration of VLT Impact Aid in the 2020-2021 State Budget is a very positive outcome at this stage in the state budget process especially as we manage through the COVID-19 related fiscal uncertainties and hard choices confronting Saratoga Springs. I want to thank Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner and my colleagues Mayor Meg Kelly and Commissioner Robin Dalton for their efforts to protect this crucial revenue stream for our City. As I have previously stated, the Finance Department is working closely with the entire City government to minimize any disruption to essential City services and to protect our employees, citizens, and taxpayers. The restoration of VLT Impact Aid – which is approximately 4.27% of our projected revenues for the year – will help us to meet these challenges. 
 
The need for support covering the costs of hosting VLT facilities will continue for as long as we are hosting these facilities, and in the face of the current economy, this aid will be critical to our ability to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens, visitors, and taxpayers.  I would also like to thank all those in State leadership with the foresight to understand our message and our needs.

Thank you

Michele Madigan

Commissioner of Finance

City of Saratoga Springs

TEMPORARY LOCATION 15 Vanderbilt Avenue

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

518-587-3550 

Wendy Liberatore has written a terrific story on the debacle over Saratoga County’s time and a half raises.  Fortunately, the Times Union has raised its pay wall so readers can access it through this link to the full story. 

The story focuses on Marcy McNamara who is the County’s Director of Human Resources.

In a recording of the March 17 Law and Finance Committee meeting Ms. McNamara offers a series of inaccurate and dubious statements. 

At one-point Ms. McNamara credits herself (she earns $119,000.00/year and will receive the special pay increase) with the idea of increasing employee salaries citing that it “…creates a better, more manageable situation so everyone is not faking sick…”

“[Without the raises] you would get half of the staff saying they need to be on leave”

“It’s an employee relations move, we wouldn’t have staff in the offices”

For a person who is the head of Human Resources, her attitude toward the employees of the county is an eye opener. Are the county employees so poorly motivated and unprofessional that without a time and a half raise they would desert their duties and call in sick en mass? Do her comments apply to herself and the other salaried staff who are also receiving these raises?

Contrast this with the employees in Saratoga Springs who are soldiering on despite the risk and with no special pay incentives. I see police cars regularly driving our streets and when I go to the transfer station with my trash and recycling, the regular staff is always there.

Our county has many outstanding people serving us. If there is poor morale among the county’s employees the fault appears not to be with the employees but with the attitude of management.

Saratoga Springs Supervisors Tara Gaston and Matthew Veitch have taken to social media to deny having responsibility for granting 50% raises to “essential” workers in Saratoga County even though there is evidence to contradict this.

Here is what Supervisor Veitch posted on his Facebook page:

I felt it was necessary to comment in regards to various media reports regarding pay for essential employees during the current crisis.

First, I appreciate all the hard work that everyone in Saratoga County Government is doing in response to the crisis, in fact I commend all of their efforts in serving the public with a reduced staff in this difficult time. They are doing a fantastic job.

Yes, the County is currently operating under a policy where most of the essential employees are getting 1.5 times pay for hours worked. I was informed of this decision on March 15th by our County administration, and was not involved at all in developing this policy. (Emphasis added)

Last week, the board of Supervisors voted on a resolution that appropriated $1M toward the response to the COVID-19 current crisis. I believed it was right and necessary to appropriate resources to respond to this crisis and voted for it. Nowhere in that resolution does it approve or dictate time and a half rates for essential employees. (Emphasis added)

I am not in agreement with the blanket time and a half policy for the County employees. The County employees have great, secure jobs and great benefits. I am open to finding a way to show our appreciation for the first responders and front-line employees who are taking a risk by just doing their jobs every day. At the current time there are many who are being laid off, and business that are struggling and not able to benefit during this crisis, so time and a half for they County is not the right decision.

I have signed on with Supervisors from other towns who also feel this way in asking for a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors as soon as possible to rectify this situation and properly propose a pay policy that does not include time and a half pay for our employees, and is appropriate for emergency response to this crisis.

On her Facebook page Tara Gaston offered a similar defense.

On March 15, 2020 administrator Hellwig notified the board of supervisors that essential workers were to recieve time and a half during the COVID-19 emergency. I immediately sought details, including who created the policy.

On March 17, 2020 the board debated resolution 84-2020 to amend the budget. The time and a half policy was not included in the resolution and was not voted on. Nevertheless, the topic was discussed. I requested that the pay discussion be taken to executive session to allow frank conversation about the origins and details of this policy. Chairman Allen, on the advice of county attorney Dorsey, denied the request.

So both Supervisors Veitch and Gaston state correctly that the raises were not in the resolution they voted for. But now they both write that the County Administrator Spencer Hellwig informed them two days before they voted that “essential” workers were to receive the time and a half raise. How did they think that was going to happen?

Keep in mind that both Supervisors were present at the Law and Finance Committee meeting on March 17 when the raises were discussed and that the raises were discussed also that day at the full Board of Supervisors meeting as documented in a previous post. Supervisor Gaston even restates in her Facebook post that she “requested that the pay discussion be taken into executive session to allow frank conversation about the origins and detail of this policy.” When her request is denied she makes no further attempt to pursue this.

Did the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors vote directly to grant a 50% salary increase to “essential” workers. No, they did not. But what they did do is knowingly vote to establish a committee (that included some who would benefit from the increase) to implement these raises.

After having been informed of the pending raises by the County Administrator and discussing the raises at both the Law and Finance meeting and the full Board meeting the resolution they all voted for stated that they agreed to establish a committee that would “have authority to ….determine appropriate County employee staffing levels and rates of compensation...”

Wikipedia defines the term plausible deniability as follows:

Plausible deniability is the ability of people (typically senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command) to deny knowledge of or responsibility for any damnable actions committed by others in an organizational hierarchy because of a lack of evidence that can confirm their participation, even if they were personally involved in or at least willfully ignorant of the actions. In the case that illegal or otherwise disreputable and unpopular activities become public, high-ranking officials may deny any awareness of such acts to insulate themselves and shift blame onto the agents who carried out the acts, as they are confident that their doubters will be unable to prove otherwise. The lack of evidence to the contrary ostensibly makes the denial plausible (that is, credible), although sometimes it merely makes it unactionable

Sometimes it’s best just to say you’re sorry.