It’s a little bit crazy and a whole lot expensive.
It’s the war being waged by Democrats on the North Greenbush Town Board against a handful of town employees, primarily, Building Inspector Michael Miner. The Times Union has a good look at the issue in their Sunday, April 16 edition.
The Dem Town Board voted at the Thursday, April 13 meeting to create the position of building director. A new political plum job that you, Mr. and Mrs. North Greenbush taxpayer, get to pay for. Even worse, the town already has someone doing the same job. That person is Mike Miner, the town’s building inspector.
Miner is one of the 14 town employees the all-Democratic Town Board voted to fire on January 2. The town was forced to rehire Miner and five other employees by the Rensselaer County Civil Service Commission.
Mike Miner is a hometown boy who has done a good job running the Building Department. His main offense? Apparently, Dem Boss Dan Ashley and Dem Hit Man CB Smith want him gone. Don’t forget that Miner was one of several employees who issued tickets for the illegal garage Big Boss Dan built; all of those employees were targeted for firing. Some of the other employees have or are expected to file lawsuits over the illegal firings.
Supervisor Mark Evers is finally showing some sense, and opposed the new hack job. He also opposes the attack on Miner, and what is expected to be another attempt at firing Miner. The ones who supported the new job have done nothing to explain how the new job benefits the town, or how the town will pay the additional expenses. The ones on the Town Board doing Boss Dan and Hit Man CB’s bidding? Their puppets, Rich Fennelly, Alan Michaels and Jim Mihalko.
This is what passes for logic in Boss Dan and Hit Man CB’s world: Employees – including ones who have Civil Service status - who do their jobs, provide a service for the town, get fired, exposing the town to potentially enormous lawsuits, and then rehired after service is disrupted; a new henchman is hired to do the same job at a greater expense even though someone is already providing the same service, and you get to pay for it. Absolutely crazy! And really, really expensive to taxpayers and sad for the town.
Posted April 16, 2006.
|