Brown Deal Goes Down

For nearly eight months, Democrats conspired in secret to give away money owed to Troy by Rensselaer for water services. Council Democrats like John Brown even tried to force a "settlement" that would have left Troy holding the bag on as much as two-thirds of the $3 million owed by Rensselaer.

The secrecy, the backroom deals between Democrats, the attempted hijacking by Brown and his Council Democrats all came to an end this week. Rensselaer has agreed to pay $1.1 million to Troy, and more of what is owed by Rensselaer is on the way. Troy is seeking the rest of the $2.6 million and more news on that amount is expected.

Which means that despite the efforts of Brown and Council Democrats and their secret deal to give away Troy's money to benefit their Democrat allies in Rensselaer, Mayor Tutunjian and his administration will have secured money rightfully owed to Troy and will secure more money than Brown's deal would have ever netted. Brown's deal would have only collected $1.1 million but – and here is an important point – had no guarantee of any future payment from Rensselaer.

Tutunjian will collect much, much more than ever would have been collected by John Brown and the Democrats. That's a fact Brown and his Democrats won't be able to escape.

What forced Rensselaer's hand? Two things: Troy's court case against Rensselaer to recover the debt is alive and well, and we hear Rensselaer officials realized their endless foot-dragging and excuses could result in water services being interrupted. Remember, the responsibility for providing water to Rensselaer residents rests with Rensselaer. Maybe Rensselaer residents were asked why Troy residents should pay to allow for residents of another city to receive their water for free.

It also became clear to Rensselaer officials that Brown and the Council Democrats would not be able to pull off a backroom heist of the water debt, despite their promises.

It's yet another embarrassment for Council Democrats, who have stumbled at every turn in 2008. Every dollar paid by Rensselaer will only add to that embarrassment.