To the Editor:

I'd like the chance to follow up on a letter in last week's Enterprise regarding the Knox Town Board and the view that a few of our residents have towards our supervisor and the board members. As an appointed board member since January of this year, I have taken every opportunity to add a sense of decorum and common sense to our board meetings as well as our discussions and, of most importance, our decisions.

Those of us fortunate enough to serve the residents of the town of Knox are tasked with the responsibility of representing the town in a professional manner and the duty to make the right choices with taxpayer money.

When there are board discussions, the council people shouldn't be barraged with expletives like, "This is bullsh*t!" or "You're all just a bunch of cowards!" from Supervisor Lefkaditis when there are disagreements that can be be discussed in a civil, thoughtful manner.

What some might characterize as being "passionate" is actually rude and disrespectful behavior. Anyone who actually attends these meetings can witness these outbursts for themselves. Is this the supervisor's idea of leadership?

At last month's town board meeting, Supervisor Lefkaditis willfully mistreated and demeaned our town clerk, Tara Murphy, disparaging her publicly and wrongfully calling her good character into question. This abuse occurred as she continued to follow past practice in recording the minutes and town board motions the way that was always accepted in the past — even under the current supervisor.

I'd like to point out two things here: First off, Ms. Murphy is an elected official who serves in a capacity independent of the supervisor’s office. Although the supervisor treats her as his personal secretary, Ms. Murphy is a publicly elected official tasked with performing her duties as town clerk and now also the registrar of vital statistics for the town of Knox.

Secondly, it's been all too common in the past for the supervisor to dismissively tell the clerk, "Ah, we'll go back later and clean that up..." or words to that effect when referring to the exact language of a motion. Truth be told, last month he chose to "cherry pick" the particular motion in question because it showed that he illegally went against the vote of the board and simply did what he wanted to do.

It doesn't matter what other town boards, universities, or unions do; the fact is that there was a vote taken and a motion passed. However, the supervisor proceeded on his own and he disregarded the law. He spent taxpayers' dollars in opposition to the legal direction as voted upon and passed by the board.

It showed him to be someone who just does what he wants and this put his actions out in the light for all to see. Is this the sort of leadership we want to represent our town?

The fact is: The law is the law and there are rules and procedures in place for a reason. The board is in place so that no single person can push his agenda or scheme. It's there for checks and balances. All members are represented equally and all have an equal vote.

Last week's letter to the editor suggests Supervisor Lefkaditis’s brash behavior is simply the way he shows his "passion" and that it should be accepted as normal or natural. I disagree. This should never be acceptable, and I hope it changes.

In the future, I would like to see a return to decorum and not see the new norm become abusive, demeaning language with the intent to try to intimidate others to fall in line with one person's agenda. In short, I'd like to see all of our board members work together for the good of the public of this great town we call home. Divisiveness serves no purpose.

Eric P. Kuck, councilman

Knox