Record In Office

RESPONSIBLE CHANGE CAME TO MONTGOMERY

In 2004 Susan Cockburn started her first term as Town of Montgomery Supervisor.

The following are just some of the documented circumstances that she dealt with correcting previous mistakes and righting wrong practices:

1) Two elected officials, married and on the same Family Medical Insurance Plan---the one more expensive to town taxpayers. One spouse was allowed to remain on the Family Plan and still take a $4,000 cash buy out from the Individual Medical Plan.

2) Elected officials were signing off on the monthly unemployment benefits of another elected official, while the entire town board was well aware that the individual was employed off the books in contractual work elsewhere in this County.

3) At 11:30pm on January 2003, the prior town supervisor cut and signed a check for a ‘special’ employee’s 2004 vacation pay, before 2004 even started.

4) All the supervisor’s files, maps, studies and reports had been removed entirely from the
office. For many months critical documents pertaining to outstanding and ongoing lawsuits, federal and state grants and funding sources remained out of reach and unavailable to the new supervisor. After the NY State Troopers were called in and legal help arrived, suddenly boxes of documents and reports began to materialize. These volumes were mysteriously and suddenly found located under and behind desks in other departments that had no use for the contents, etc.

5) Invoices dated November 2003, for the installation of a $450.00 car audio system into a Town Supervisor’s vehicle, were authorized for payment by the 2003 town board. The invoice specifies that upon job completion, the car should be dropped off at the supervisor’s home address. Yet, upon inspection of the town owned supervisor’s car, there was absolutely no sound system installed.

6) An invoice was dated December, 2003 for the installation of an auto electric start system into the town supervisor’s car. In 2004 there wasn’t an auto electric start system to be found in the town supervisor’s town car.

7) Not one department in the town’s prior administration was required to submit an annual budget estimate and request for the upcoming budget.

8) The town assessor performed the town supervisor/budget officer and deputy budget officer’s work of drawing up the Special Districts' portion of the annual town budget. The budget officer and deputy budget officer drew a special salary for the tasks.

9) Across the street from a town ball field, a resident received $500.00 for the summer just to open and close the park gate directly across the street from his mailbox. This simple task was instead given to the highway department, which passes by the park everyday anyway.

10) Relatives of town officials and office workers were brought into town hall, first as interns with pay, then it was requested that the individuals remain on as paid part timers, and once a civil service non tested position was created for them, they were hired to full time status with all the benefits of town employment.

11) The NY State Comptroller’s Office documented that the town submitted many years of false numbers, repeatedly overcharged the village residents, and ran an unrecorded deficit of $500,000.00 that the former supervisor hid by submitting faked fund surplus balances.

12) Town parks, town buildings and properties were used as ‘make work’ projects for some officials to earn quick cash. Similar to the illegal practice of stealing from a job site, donated items destined for a town park or town project were carried off to the home of elected officials.

13) Complete retirement packages ecompassing full medical insurance, an eye and dental allotment were given at 55 years of age or 10 years of employment. The standard private industry package is for 63 and over and 20 years of service with some percentage of employee buy in required. Cockburn anticipated the expense to taxpayers in the near future and had the program changed to 63 years or 20 years of service with a percent buy in required of all employees with only 4 years or less in town employment.

14) The New Comprehensive Plan Review handed from the Comprehensive Plan Committee to the Town Board in late 2003. The 2002 Town Board initiated and funded a residential review only. The result was an updated Comprehensive Plan that had absolutely zero focus on the commercial/business and industrial zoning of the entire town. With only the residential aspects of the town researched and updated, all the old incompatible and out of date uses remain in our town's zoning and planning regulations for all commercial, business and industrial projects.

15) After the year 2004 began, Town Supervisor Cockburn immediately corrected each of these poor practices which had been in play for many years. Supervisor Cockburn ended the practice of utilizing the exclusive Crown Victoria Town Supervisor’s car.

These are a few of the major corrections and changes Cockburn put into effect immediately upon taking office. She continued to take corrective action as often as possible as the problems became visible.

When the Chair of the Republican Committee reported in a campaign mailing in July that the town's finances were not the way he left them, he is correct, and they were not the way he apparently liked them afterward either. Supervisor Cockburn rendered all the books balanced and all the practices and policies in order and in compliance with NYS municipal accounting practices. No longer were the town coffers accessible to those who would use them to suit their own personal gains.

Don’t let Bill Kirnan’s team regain control of our tax dollars and our town’s future. Reject his chosen candidates for office in 2009! Please elect their credible opposition for a sustainable Montgomery--Cockburn, Kimball.