BERNE — Berne is effectively without a town board following the sudden resignation of three members — Al Thiem, Leo Vane Jr., and Joe Martin — who told The Enterprise this week that the “hostile work environment” created by Supervisor Dennis Palow made it impossible to conduct town business in accordance with their own standards for public service.

All members of the five-person board were elected on the Republican ticket.

The mass resignation is a stunning development that also raises alarms about the town’s finances, which the three former members told The Enterprise this week are in much worse shape than the public is aware, and that Palow appears to lack any clear plan to address the issues while relying on a fear-based approach to control perceptions.

Palow, who has been a strong critic of The Enterprise and has vowed in the past not to cooperate with its inquiries, could not be reached despite repeated attempts.

“I don’t think they can go into next year without having a deficit …, ” Martin, who chairs the Berne Republican Committee and is president and owner of C. Springer Welding Works, said. “Not without having bills late. Extremely late.”

The Enterprise has reported on several instances where the town appeared to be behind in paying its bills, and was in the midst of investigating a more recent instance — related to unemployment insurance, going back to the fourth quarter of last year, according to a tax warrant issued against the town that’s available on the Albany County Clerk’s website — when the newspaper learned of the board members’ resignations. 

The warrant, dated June 12, 2024, shows that Berne owes the New York State Department of Labor at least $11,426.30 in contributions, plus $283.27 in interest so far. The three former board members said that they were kept in the dark on this and other financial issues.

Martin said he was shown documents that suggested the DOL money is related to a fraudulent unemployment claim by a non-resident, but only after he discovered the missing payments on his own.

Whenever the board members attempted to broach financial issues, they’d be subject to “explosive confrontations” from Palow, they said.

On Wednesday, just before the board members resigned, Martin and Vane say they were kicked out of Town Hall while, in a private session, they were trying to get information from Palow about the town’s budget.

“The supervisor told me that he’s not telling me a ‘f-cking thing,’ and then he told me the meeting’s over and to get out and be done,” Martin said. “I told him, ‘No, I’m going to talk to the accounting clerk [Andrea Borst], because I still have questions, and I have the right to ask her.” 

He said that Palow then directed Borst not to share any information, and, not wanting to escalate the situation, Martin gave up and walked out. Palow followed him as he left, Martin said, “the whole time just yelling and fighting.”

Borst could not be reached for comment.

Vane, who was with Martin at the town hall on Wednesday, said the incident was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” explaining that tensions had been building for a long time.

“He shouts at you and literally becomes unglued,” Vane said of Palow. 

Martin said that the town is currently facing expensive invoices from Tracey Trucks, for highway trucks, and Callanan Industries, for recent paving materials — roughly half-a-million dollars to each company, across different invoices — that he doesn’t think it can pay.

The Enterprise this week submitted a Freedom of Information Law request for those invoices. 

Martin said the town is relying heavily on sales tax, which the county distributes to municipalities based on population; Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPs) funds; and the sale of Switzkill Farm — the 358-acre property that the town, after much difficulty, managed to secure a $150,000 sale agreement with Albany County for — to swing these expenses.

“But what’s happening right now,” Martin said, “is they paid one invoice for paving, $183,000, and they’re hoping that the $183,000 comes back [through CHIPs] so they can pay the second one. But all these invoices are sitting right now.”

And because the second invoice is more expensive, he said, the town will still need to come up with tens of thousands of dollars more, and all the while, the invoices go unpaid. 

Martin said that there’s another truck on back order and that Palow believes it won’t arrive until next year but Martin is worried if the truck arrived earlier, the town wouldn’t have the funds to pay for it: “Which is possible, “ he said of next year’s arrival, “but what if they send it in October or November? What are you going to do?”

Meanwhile, Martin said, the Switzkill Farm sale may be held up over concerns that the county has with the contract, noting that Palow now appears to be blaming the stalled sale on the fact that the board no longer has a quorum.

On Thursday, county spokeswoman Mary Rozak told The Enterprise, when it asked about those concerns, that the “resignations don’t impact the sale. Things continue to move forward.” 

In 2022, The Enterprise reported that Berne had frequently left outstanding its National Grid bills from that year and the year prior, suggesting that there were serious financial issues, but Palow denied that this was true, arguing that the town had, in fact, been paying its bills, despite the fact that The Enterprise had obtained several invoices showing missing payments.

Thiem said the board had been told that checks had been sent out on time but were lost or needed to be rewritten. 

Martin also said he found out that Palow was transferring money between the town’s accounts to cover expenses without board approval, for which The Enterprise is awaiting a FOIL to confirm. 

The New York State Comptroller’s office had flagged Berne for financial mismanagement in 2021 following an audit, critical of Supervisor Sean Lyons as well then-Deputy Supervisor Palow. The comptroller’s office flagged the town again for not fixing the issues over a year later. The follow-up audit found that Palow had lied to state officials.

“The Supervisor did not take corrective action because he said he had not read the audit report and therefore was not aware of the recommendation,” the audit said. “However, he told us that the bookkeeper prepares the monthly bank reconciliations and that he reviews them each month.

“We found no evidence of the Supervisor’s review on any of the bank reconciliations for June, July, and August 2022,” said the audit, which goes on to detail errors in reconciliation.

A volatile leader

The three board members all portrayed Palow as having an unpredictable, explosive, and vengeful personality, and that this is both what led to so much of the drama in the town’s government in the past few years, as well as what kept it from spilling out into the open.

Apart from concerns about the town’s finances, Palow’s triggers appear to include anything that has to do with Democrats in the town, they said. The town has been dominated by Republicans since 2020, when the party’s endorsed candidates began sweeping town elections. 

Martin said he was told that the board can’t cooperate with Emily Vincent, a sheep farmer in town who was illegally removed from the planning board by the Republican-led administration in 2020 after she had previously been subject to unsubstantiated building violations, because she had successfully sued the town over her removal.

“I said, ‘She sued the town because you illegally fired her. You were wrong,’” Martin said, describing the town board’s removal of Vincent. “It’s just constant foolishness that the majority of our town, aside from the people who are involved with politics, want nothing to do with.” 

Thiem said that he had once participated in a small, non-partisan group called the Community Hilltowns Action Team (CHAT), that was formed by Peggy Christman, a former Democratic candidate for supervisor who lost to Palow in 2022. The group was formed as a way for residents to discuss their concerns and goals for the town and figure out possible solutions.

“I was one of the only Republicans that sat in that meeting,” he said, explaining that he doesn’t care what party people are affiliated with and that, as an elected official, he was there to listen to community members.

“It was a very productive meeting,” Thiem said. “There were things that were asked that I agreed with. They wanted to put together a little event in the town park for the kids, and they wanted a bouncy house in the park. I thought that would be a great idea.”

The idea was shut down immediately, Thiem said, on the basis that the town’s insurance wouldn’t allow it. 

Thiem said that, the next day, he and Vane happened to be together and started questioning why insurance wouldn’t allow it, so they made a call to the company to get to the bottom of it. The company never called them back, instead alerting Palow. 

“We were reprimanded in an executive session for making that phone call,” Thiem said. “There was no other topic of discussion. It was a slap-down fest on me for making that phone call on behalf of the residents of our community to do something good.”

Palow also had told Thiem that he wasn’t allowed to communicate with CHAT about local issues, and that members of that group would need to address any questions or concerns at a board meeting, according to a text message from Palow to Thiem that Thiem shared with The Enterprise.

Thiem also said he was once berated for going out to lunch with Joel Willsey and Dawn Jordan — two former board members who had been elected on the Democratic line, and who had clashed with Palow during their time on the board. Palow was particularly incensed that Thiem had covered the bill, he said, describing Palow in that moment as “unhinged.”  

“I believe that a town councilman should be able to call anybody that we do business with in the town and speak to anybody in our town,” he said.

Thiem said he felt the CHAT message, besides restricting his ability to serve as a councilman, was a violation of his First Amendment rights — something the town is currently being sued for by former supervisor Kevin Crosier, a Democrat, whom Palow kicked out of a public hearing on a proposal that would allow all-terrain vehicles on public roads in town.

Thiem and Vane were board members at the time while Martin was in the audience as a planning board member and a proponent of the law. Crosier, who was against the law, was the first resident to speak, but was hardly able to before Palow interrupted him and told him repeatedly to sit down, ultimately telling sheriff’s deputies to escort Crosier out, which they did, as the rest of the board looked on.

“I believe I can speak for the board when I say we were all taken aback,” Thiem said. “I was shocked at what our supervisor did. I was absolutely shocked that he did what he did that night.”

“I’m going to tell you right now, I think [Crosier] is correct,” he added. “I think his First Amendment right was infringed upon.”

Martin said that he advised the board to settle the case when he joined this year, after an uncontested election. Crosier had said he would not sue if the town board apologized. The board did not apologize so Crosier is proceeding with the suit.

“If there was a settlement on the table, I don’t know, I wasn’t involved in the meetings,” Martin said, “but I asked Dennis to put your ego aside and settle it. It’s bad for the town. And it fell on deaf ears.”

The New York State Supreme Court is soon to hold depositions for the case, and, should Crosier ultimately win, he is asking for at least $100,000 in damages.

Thiem said he didn’t feel the board should apologize for Palow’s behavior, but that he agreed Palow should have taken responsibility before the lawsuit was filed.

“I walked in early in the morning the next day [after the hearing] and I sat down with Mr. Palow and said, ‘I’ve seen you do this to many people in our community, and you acted inappropriately,’” Thiem said. “I had this conversation with him, and he could care less. He doesn’t think what he did was wrong.” But, added Thiem, “What he did was wrong.” 

Like Martin, Thiem said Palow should “man up” and settle. 

Vane agreed, and said that “the longer this lingers out there,” the more expensive it will be for the community, who would be on the hook for attorney fees and whatever’s owed as part of the settlement or damages, aside from what the town’s insurance will cover. 

Palow’s behavior has long been a concern in the town, going back to the days when Democrats still had majority control of the board and Palow was serving as Republican Supervisor Sean Lyon’s deputy. 

Vane, a Vietnam-era veteran, said that Palow, also a veteran, seems to adhere to a military-style organizational structure, where commands flow down from the top without question. 

“There is no discussion about the matter,” he said. “There is no give or take.” 

Vane said that Palow once “lunged across his desk” at him before Vane said, “‘Hey, I outrank you militarily, and I suggest you sit down and reconsider what you’re about to do.’ And he did. He sat down and calmed down and we were able to finish our discussion.” 

Thiem said he’s heard from “a couple of people in our community that they’re actually scared of [Palow].” 

Martin spoke of at least one employee who will acknowledge to him in private that the town isn’t healthy, but won’t do so when Palow is present, because they get “nervous.” 

As Willsey had complained when he was on the board, the three members who resigned this week said that, when Palow wrote them off, they stopped getting information from him, making it difficult for them to make decisions that Palow would spring on them at board meetings.

When asked if she had ever been instructed by Palow to withhold information from people, Town Clerk Kristin de Oliveira told The Enterprise in an email, “My duties as Town Clerk are to serve the residents, I report to the Town Supervisor and the Supervisor reports to the Town Board, I find your question inappropriate.”

Soon after that exchange, she told The Enterprise that a FOIL request the paper made July 9 for Department of Labor correspondence that she had delayed several times had been rejected. The Enterprise is appealing.

A new board

Without a quorum, the five-member town board is unable to take any action, including the appointment of new members. 

Neither the New York State Department of State, the governor’s office, nor the Association of Towns could be reached for confirmation on how the board will be re-established, or if this has ever happened before. 

The state’s Public Officers Law says that, if a vacant elected position cannot be filled by appointment, “the governor shall, unless otherwise provided for by authorized local law, resolution or ordinance, make proclamation of a special election to fill such office within ten days of the occurrence of a vacancy, specifying the district or county in which the election is to be held.” 

Meanwhile, the Office of the State Comptroller told The Enterprise that the supervisor “has certain defined powers flowing from that position's statutory role as town treasurer, which includes, for example, under Town Law § 29(7) the power to pay fixed salaries, the principal of or interest on indebtedness, amounts becoming due upon lawful contracts for periods exceeding one year, and compensation for services of officers or employees regularly engaged by the town at agreed wages by the hour, day, week, month or year without prior audit.”

However, the office said, “We cannot provide any further guidance here about how the town should move forward with matters requiring board approval pending the filling of the vacancies.”

When offered the opportunity to comment by The Enterprise, Lyons, the GOP supervisor before Palow for whom Palow served as a deputy,  criticized the three former board members for their decision in an email.

“I have had little confidence in two of the three resigning board members in their inabilities to learn and understand municipal operations for quite some time,” he said. “Councilman Vane and Martins ignorance of municipal operations leads them to the accusations against Supervisor Palow.

“If they took the time to understand how municipal government works they would have understood Supervisor Palow wasnt making a hostile environment but simply relaying town law and procedures they couldn't understand or comprehend. They treated the Supervisor as a Mayor and not 1 vote of 5 just as they were.

“If they did understand how a town board functions they would not have given up a majority but rather used the power of 3 to ‘govern’ the concerns they have with the Supervisor, but by resigning they have crippled the town and showed disrespect to every voter, taxpayer and resident.”

Lyons also said he has faith in the town’s finances and that “it appears this board as a whole have been excellent fiduciaries with our tax money this year and in the previous. I also have confidence in the accounting staff at town hall.”

The board members said they were aware of the ramifications of their joint resignations and had thought their decision through carefully, considering various options before deciding to resign. As the chairman of the Republican Committee, Martin said he’s aware that he’s potentially forfeiting party control of the town.

“It got bad enough that that was more reasonable,” he said, “and of course it’s going to affect any decisions down the road for me, as far as politics, but I’m more concerned with doing the right thing, and that’s just it.” 

The board members said they had considered other options and didn’t take the decision to resign lightly, but that there was no clear alternative.

In fact, they questioned who would want to step up to the open seats and deal with Palow, noting that Democrats had not put up any candidates in the last election, which featured Thiem and Martin on the Republican line.

Thiem said that Palow should resign and allow Deputy Supervisor Thomas Doolin to take his place. 

“I can’t speak for anybody but myself, but I would consider coming back temporarily to put a new government in place, maybe even permanently without Dennis,” Thiem said. 

When The Enterprise spoke with Doolin on Aug. 14, the day the board members resigned, he said he had not yet read their resignation letters and didn’t know enough to comment. He could not be reached the following day. 

“If you went on this ride with us, if you were standing here next to us, you’d do what we did,” Thiem said.