Reorganizing
Berne GOP backs off support of Crosier

BERNE — After a hiatus, the GOP in town is reorganizing and criticizing the man it backed for supervisor.
"There seems to be an interest," said Peggy Warner, chairwoman of the committee.

In a town where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1, the town government has been dominated by Democrats for decades.

The current supervisor, Kevin Crosier, was elected on the Republican ticket, but is an enrolled Democrat. He is now running in the Democratic primary for the county legislature. If he wins the county seat, Crosier has said he’ll resign as Berne supervisor, cutting short his four-year term.

The other town board members are Democrats.

Warner indicated local Republicans are frustrated with Crosier and said there has been dissention within the community.
"You’re either a Republican or a Democratic. You can’t be both," she said. Crosier, she said, goes "back and forth."
Crosier said Warner was "drawing a line in the sand."

With six members — two for each of the town’s three voting districts — the committee is re-organizing this weekend and currently contacting enrolled Republicans to run for town board and town assessor.

Two assessor seats and two town board seats — James Hamilton’s and Carol Crounse’s — are open this fall.

Rudy Stempel is vice-chairman of the committee. Former chairman Philip Stevens resigned.
The GOP party committee is advocating for a bipartisan budget committee. The committee’s leaders point to recent budgets — a 1-percent decrease in the town’s budget prior to elections and "a better than" 20-percent tax increase after the 2005 election.

This year, Berne’s tax levy increased just over 20-percent. Residents’ taxes increased 80 cents per $1,000 of valuation this year, a tax rate of $4.71.
"This volatility begs a closer examination. We believe a bipartisan committee of concerned citizens can lend their time and expertise to help inform the town’s budget preparation, adoption, and implementation," Warner and Stempel write in a letter to The Enterprise editor this week.

Crosier, who included a merger of the town’s highway department with the county’s department of public works in his budget proposal, did not vote for this year’s spending plan.
Warner called Crosier’s budget proposal last fall "a manipulated thing."

She criticized the proposed merger.
"Our men have been doing a good job, and there’s no need to get rid of them," she said.

If the merger proposal was a good idea, then why didn’t nearby towns, such as Knox, Westerlo, and Rensselaerville also consider it, Warner asked.
Since he took office, Crosier said, he’s always had an open-door policy and has encouraged others to visit and see how their tax dollars are spent. "It’s important people understand where and how their money is being spent," he said. Warner has never visited his office, Crosier said, adding that the proposed merger has been "a very open process from day one."

Warner was also critical of the East Berne hamlet study and questioned Crosier’s management of town board meetings.
"He seems to be afraid of questions asked publicly," Warner said. Crosier took credit for the town’s sewer project, which was started by former supervisor Alan Zuk, Warner said. Crosier told people he would change his enrollment to Republican once he’d been elected, she said.
"That’s hysterical," Crosier said of Warner’s criticisms. "It sounds to me like she doesn’t know what’s going on in her community," Crosier said, adding that Warner’s criticisms are informed by "innuendo and rumor."
The sewer project, started years before he was elected, wasn’t funded or approved when he entered office, Crosier said. "It was dead," he said. Crosier got the project approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation, he said, and obtained $750,000 in state grant money and $500,000 in federal grant money.
Asked if he’d told people he would change his party enrollment if elected, Crosier replied, "No."
Warner said some have become tired of Crosier’s "dishonest talk."

The Town of Berne Republican Party Committee is meeting to reorganize this weekend and will discuss the party’s caucus, Warner said.

Enrolled Republicans interested in running for a Berne council or assessor position are encouraged to contact Warner or Stempel.

Warner said some have shown interest in running for a council position, but she would not disclose their names until the committee holds a meeting.