Ciarlante was at the meeting.
“It seems to be like people are holding cards,” she said. “Even though I didn’t agree with people against it, having it [appear on the agenda] at quarter to five– it’s like you have to monitor the website all day long to find out what’s going on. [The board] had a valid point– the first resolution shouldn’t have gone on. Then in response, they came up with their own to get even. Then [Myers] got flustered and didn’t know what to do.”
Ciarlante said the agenda should be completed three days before the meeting. Anything that isn’t an emergency shouldn’t be added before then. She also has an idea for an email blast letting residents know about the agenda and other info regarding public hearings.
“It’s really important for everyone to have the information the town supervisor has,” she said. “Why have secrets unless you’re trying to get something through?”
Ciarlante said the town should schedule special meetings to discuss all PILOT agreements or grant applications that involve a local share, because “every time there’s money spent it’s like a lien against your property.”
She said the board should meet more often.
“The Town Board might not like that but if you’re going to have a working team you need to meet more than once or twice a month.”
Myers doesn’t believe Ciarlante’s concerns are voiced in good faith.
“Gaetana hasn’t been up here,” she said, referencing her office. “If she had a concern about something, she could stop by. To just show up for the cameo on camera is a bit much. Public comment period is fine, but when it’s used on a regular basis to attack people…”
People-pleaser?
Myers contrasts her approach to the town expenses with Helsmoortel’s: meticulous to permissive. She described her accomplishments: renegotiating the town’s phone service, saving $2,500 with landline and mobile together, changing health insurance providers, getting a better interest rate on town bonds, to name a few. She also talked about reimbursement requests she discovered: $175 boots and $600 suits. She said allowing old contracts to roll over without reexamining them and allowing unnecessary expenditures were part of the reason property taxes doubled during Helsmoortel’s time in office.
He was a “a people-pleaser,” she said. “He was everybody’s buddy. That makes him a good friend but doesn’t necessarily make him a good administrator.”
“That’s not true,” said Helsmoortel. He said he routinely turned down requests from the Recreation, Highway and Police departments, requests that have since been met by the board– like a bond for recreation and a second full-time building inspector for the Building Department.
“I feel she’s way off line there,” he said. “A lot of the people in the Town Hall didn’t like me and couldn’t wait for me to go.”
Helsmoortel doesn’t think Myers really means what she’s saying.
“I don’t think there’s anything sincere about that woman,” he said.
Myers believes Helsmoortel wasn’t a “hands-on” administrator. He let the town clerk sign checks using a stamp with his signature. Documents came from town departments signed by the secretary and stamped by the town clerk.
“The whole process was automated and nobody really looked at it,” she said.
She claims she reformed the process, making sure all department heads reviewed every bill, which she personally reviewed as well.
“I don’t delegate my stamp,” she said.
Myers said the changes turned up cases of double-billing and other problems, and the net result has been savings for the town.
Helsmoortel called that an “easy accusation” and questioned whether Myers was really saving a large amount of money. He said while it was true the clerk had a stamp with his signature, he often reviewed all the bills and, in addition, provided the abstracts for board members in a timely fashion.
The spoiler question
The word around town is Helsmoortel is the favorite to win because Myers and Ciarlante will split the Republican vote. Myers was aided in the 2011 race by having both the Conservative and Independence lines. She has neither this time.
Many Republicans certainly feel this way, which is why much of the negativity has been between Ciarlante and Myers and their proxies. Helsmoortel has mostly sat on the sidelines.
Some Republicans aren’t happy Ciarlante didn’t step aside and support Myers after losing the GOP caucus. Sure, it was tantalizing to lose it by a narrow margin, but by staying in the race all she’s doing is spoiling it for the Republicans and guaranteeing a win for Helsmoortel.
She disagrees.
“I really didn’t see Kelly getting elected because I don’t think she can beat Helsmoortel and a number of us put a lot of time into getting her elected last time and we weren’t going to do it again,” she said.
