Town board should hire Hotaling to keep Westerlo in balance
To the Editor:
I am writing today because of a situation I find appalling [The Altamont Enterprise, Sept. 26, 2019: “Westerlo opens assessor’s job”].
A man who was fighting for his life was told the day after surgery that he would have to pay for his own health insurance. This man has worked for the town of Westerlo for 19 years with his insurance paid as part of his part-time position as the town’s sole assessor!
Peter Hotaling has kept the basis on which town taxes are charged accurate and considerate of Westerlo’s taxpayers. Very few folks have been unhappy with their assessments and for years very few, if any, have shown up on Grievance Day. Westerlo is not a wealthy town and Peter has always seen to it that assessments were fair.
For whatever reason, Bill Bichteman decided he did not want Peter in that office. So, he built a case about Peter’s hours and pay and health insurance. Bill is doing what he always does. He makes a decision on his own, then pushes everyone around until he gets his way.
This is the same way he worked everyone up about fixing the town hall. I am disappointed in our town board for going along with Bill’s latest whim.
Westerlo has not suffered because Peter is ill. Peter has kept everything under control so there are no problems.
Peter is a bona fide member of the New York State Assessors’ Association and New York State Institute of Assessing Officers chartered by the New York State Board of Regents that granted him an IAO [Institute of Assessing Officers] professional designation. They also find the actions surrounding this incident “appalling.”
But Bill has no compassion for anyone, including Westerlo’s taxpayers, whom he kept insisting should fund his unnecessary and poorly planned multi-million-dollar building project, and whom he’s now putting at risk by trying to hire a new assessor.
But Peter hasn’t given up. Bill has posted the job opening for Town Assessor and Peter will submit his CV [Curriculum Vitae]. Please let the town board members (who, luckily, are the ones with authority to approve a hire) know you want them to reappoint Peter, benefits intact, to keep Westerlo in balance.
Bonnie Kohl-Laub
Westerlo
Editor’s note: William Bichteman, a Democrat and currently Westerlo’s acting supervisor, is running for supervisor in November. Bonnie Kohl-Laub formerly chaired Westerlo’s Republican Committee. Peter Hotaling is enrolled as a Democrat.
I agree with Bonnie Kohl In her letter about Peter Hotaling. I feel I had to respond as it’s my personal opinion Bill Bichteman was on a mission trying to get rid of Peter for possible personal reasons, as to my knowledge in attending meetings almost every month, there has been no complaints about Peter. Bill made Peter look so bad in the public’s eyes it made it difficult for the town board to defend Peter.
In this computer age many people work from home. Peter was even provided a computer to use at home. When someone at one of the recent board meetings asked how to keep track of Peters hours whispers went thru the town hall “Time clocks, time clocks!” But it was ignored.
Years ago Peter said he was given health insurance in place of raises, so how is that his fault? More importantly for Bill to push to drop his health insurance and discontinue his job for not being physically in the office during his disability and multiple surgeries is in my opinion just plain mean.
Councilman Filkins had suggested carrying Peter’s health insurance until Peter is eligible for Medicare next year but it was basically ignored in that Bill had convinced the public in the way he presented the case against Peter, that Peter should be fired.
As most folks know Councilman Filkins made resolutions last year on time clocks and job descriptions. Remember these both protect the town AND the employees. However let me say when those resolutions were presented at a board meeting there was such an uproar over the next few months you would have thought Councilman Filkins wanted to put cameras in the bathrooms! Now here’s the town once again trying to come up with a job description for the Assessor’s position just like they did when the past attorney and past code enforcement officer suddenly left in December as there was nothing in writing.
More importantly, our officials need to work together as representatives of the Residents of Westerlo and not separate as Democrats and/or Republicans or worse yet have a personal agenda. That’s not in the best interest of the taxpayers of Westerlo
Betty Peck Filkins