To the Editor:

I wrote this letter to the Berne Town Board.

The people of Berne have elected the supervisor and members of the board to oversee the issues of serving those people, while protecting their interests.  The highway superintendent is elected by the same folks who put the board in office to maintain the roads within our town, using the department’s annual budget, approved by the board, to administer his department, and to hire sufficient personnel to get the job done.

Our supervisor has chosen to usurp the authority of the highway superintendent by firing two employees in an attempt to coerce the union members into approving and signing a contract which they refused to accept...The termination action was modified to “laid off,” and then rescinded, with the two workers being told by the town supervisor to return to work.  Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.  The union contract provides for 10 days prior notification of layoffs.  This was ignored by the supervisor, so the two are entitled to salary for those 10 days.  Instead of a punishment, the employees are due a two-week paid holiday.  

The responsibilities of the town supervisor and members of the Berne Town Board includes investigation of highway employees suspected of misuse of town equipment, but are limited to making recommendations for discipline to the highway superintendent (Highway Law, §140[4], Civil Service Law, §75[2]).

Since there was no allegation of misuse, there were no grounds for dismissal and the supervisor and board failed to protect the interests of the townspeople and the rights of town employees, not to mention the law.  This little excursion into management excesses has cost the taxpayers over $3,000, so far.  It can go much higher if the Attorney General chooses to investigate and charge the town’s leaders.

What boggles the mind is that there has been no attempt to hide their actions.  The Enterprise has quotes from the supervisor that announce that the layoffs were to force the signing of the union contract.  Apparently he and the board conspired to extort acquiescence months earlier, when they changed the budget to justify the firings.  (Since the board votes unanimously, they are all responsible).

The town pays two lawyers, who one would think are supposed to keep the supervisor and board members from entering into situations where they break the law, waste money, or both.  I sure hope the attorneys will seek absolution because they “knew nothing” about what the board was doing.

When the last highway superintendent reached out to the Association of Towns for legal help to deal with the board’s encroachment on his office, he found that the board had not paid the dues to the organization.  The board’s excuse was that the town had its own attorneys and didn’t need other counsel, leaving the highway superintendent out in the cold.  As evidenced by the hole the supervisor has dug them into, our supervisor and the board aren’t using their lawyers either.

The imbroglio has been documented in the press and on TV, bringing it to the notice of our neighbors and to the people who make the rules that Berne’s officials have seen fit to violate, not to mention heaping ridicule and shame on the town of Berne and her citizens. This is unacceptable.  

We are all entitled to expect more from the people who are chosen to represent us. Sadly, you have given us less.  Now the time has come for all of you to step down, because it’s the right thing to do.  You can use the time to prepare your defense, put your affairs in order, and even make a ham sandwich, but you have outlived your usefulness to the town of Berne and the people who trusted you.

Rick Otto

Berne

Editor’s note: Rick Otto, a Republican, has run unsuccessfully for a seat on the Berne Town board, currently made up of all Democrats. See related story.