BERNE — Berne’s tentative budget for 2025 is being withheld from the public while the town is in crisis after three of the five town board members resigned in August and the veil has been lifted on the town’s poor financial condition.

Town Clerk Kristin de Oliveira told The Enterprise last week that Supervisor Dennis Palow has submitted a tentative budget to her office in accordance with state law, but it hasn’t been posted to the town’s website as budget documents normally are.

De Oliveira — who is an elected official and does not work directly for the supervisor or town board — also claimed she couldn’t send a copy to The Enterprise when asked because it is “not mine to distribute. Town Law states the Tentative Budget is to be given to the Town Board, and upon scheduling a public hearing copies for the public shall be made and distributed.”

The New York State Committee on Open Government told The Enterprise that, outside of a Freedom of Information Law request, which the newspaper has submitted, the town would be obligated to make the document available at least 24 hours before any meeting where it would be up for discussion.

The tentative budget would normally be available for review by the town board under a state-set Oct. 5 deadline.

However, Berne does not currently have a functioning town board because with only two members, it is impossible to reach a quorum until Governor Kathy Hochul steps in to fill one or more seats.

Except for a brief acknowledgment last month that the governor’s office is aware of and “reviewing” the situation in Berne, Hochul’s staff has not responded to numerous Enterprise inquiries to explain what steps she’s considering, or why it’s taking as long as it has.

State law allows the governor’s office to call for a special election to fill the vacant posts or to make appointments.

Earlier this year, after the town of Hermon lost most of its town board members in a spate of resignations, Hochul made an appointment to that board about a month later. 

Until the board has a quorum, Berne will be losing time to undergo a thorough budget cycle at a time when the town’s finances are of enormous concern, with the former board members saying that they left in part because they had questions about Palow’s fiscal acumen. 

The Enterprise has reported many times before and after the August resignations on Berne’s financial strifes, ranging from reprimands from the state comptroller’s office to unpaid bills, a payroll account that’s been overdrawn multiple times, and unauthorized transfers between accounts. 

It is unclear how the town’s paralysis will affect the budget cycle, for which state law does not appear to offer any deadline extensions. The deadline for the final budget is Nov. 20. 

The town board had no meetings in August, September, or so far in October, though a meeting is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 30. 

The comptroller’s press secretary, Mark Johnson, told The Enterprise that the adoption of the budget “is something that the town must undertake in consultation with the town attorney, in consideration of the town’s current circumstances.”