BERNE — Although three Berne Town Board Member positions need to be filled in November, only one is subject to a primary contest this month, and it’s between Tim Lippert, who holds the endorsement of his party, and Town Clerk Anita Clayton, a Democrat who will retire from her clerk position at the end of this year, and who is currently endorsed by the town’s Conservative Party. 

Early voting for the primary elections begins on June 12 and ends June 20. Primary Day itself is June 22.

Lippert and Clayton are running to fill a seat that was held by former Councilman Mat Harris until his resignation in February. It’s currently held by Leo Vane Jr., who was appointed earlier this year and will remain in the spot until Dec. 31. The remainder of the term at that point will be two years. Full Berne Town Board terms are four years and, and the position pays $3,635 annually.

Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner Kathleen Donovan confirmed this week that these candidates are explicitly seeking the truncated term, as determined by their nominating petitions, which is why the other Democratic candidates are uninvolved. 

Two of the four council members are finishing their terms at the end of the year, and the incumbents are not seeking re-election. Joel Willsey, the lone Democrat on the board, will not run for a second term; Dennis Palow, a Republican, is instead running for town supervisor.

The Enterprise asked both Clayton and Lippert about their backgrounds and what they think this election’s most important issue is, along with questions on the topics below. The full interview recordings can be heard at altamontenterprise.com

— Switzkill Farm: The Switzkill Farm property has been a source of controversy since the town purchased it in 2014 with significant outside aid. Critics — including those who have attempted to reverse the purchase through litigation — say that the property costs taxpayers more than it provides in monetary value to the town, while defenders hold that it provides priceless cultural and ecological value, and that with smart planning, it can be financially valuable as well. The current town board is exploring the possibility of a sale, a process that’s complicated by the fact that the land has a conservation easement and is likely considered a park. As a member of the town board, you would have an influence over the direction of the property and the resources that are allocated to it. How do you feel about the town owning the property, and would you rather support efforts to divest the town of the property or efforts to revitalize it?

— Cooperation: Local government in New York State is regulated by state law, which aims to keep governments fair and honest, and its employees safe. However, it’s not uncommon for these local governments to break state law, whether deliberately or by mistake. There are several local examples of such non-compliance. Last year, a Berne highway employee was killed in a workplace accident at the town transfer station, and a subsequent investigation by a state authority found that there were several related safety violations, some of which were administrative in nature. Also last year, in Knox, it was revealed by the Office of the New York State Comptroller that the town’s clerk had been failing to make timely deposits of money she collected on behalf of the town, among other things. And common across the Hilltowns and beyond are various boards’ failure to comply with Open Meetings Law. Do you feel that the Berne Town Board should have more oversight of other town departments to ensure that they’re following the law, or at least operating as intended? If not, why? If so, what might that oversight look like? 

— Public participation: The Berne Town Board infamously barred the public from commenting at meetings in 2020. At first, the public was allowed to comment only at every other monthly meeting, not including public hearings, which are designed for specific topics. After the coronavirus pandemic was declared in March of 2020, the public was not allowed to comment for many meetings in a row, and the board had voted earlier this year against allowing public comment at every meeting, as was the board’s policy prior to 2020. Residents have been frustrated by this. As a town board member, would you want to give the public the ability to engage with its representatives in a public forum? Why or why not? And, if so, what conditions would you want to set, if any?

— Town employees: Last year, the Berne Town Board created controversy when it unceremoniously fired a number of town employees and officials from their positions. Some of these firings, like that of Emily Vincent, were illegal under New York State law. Others were not illegal, but involved unpaid volunteers, like Tim Doherty, who served on the town’s youth council, despite there being no immediate replacement. Many if not all of the affected employees have complained about the lack of notice and said that there was no clear indication of why they were fired. As a town board member, you’ll be in a position to decide whether someone is fit to serve in a particular position. This is a complicated decision that involves both legal and moral considerations. As a candidate, how and when do you think the town should notify employees and officials that they’re being let go? And, do you think there should be a formal system for employee evaluations? Why or why not? 

Tim Lippert

Tim Lippert said he’s running for office because, with years of municipal planning and entrepreneurial experience, he has “a lot to contribute.”

Lippert has been the owner and manager of Catskill Paint Company since 1992, and, since 2006, the owner and manager of the 150-acre Crosby Farm, which he runs with his partner. He’s currently the building inspector and code enforcement officer for Rensselaerville. He formerly held those same positions within the town of Berne.

At stake in this election, Lippert said, are dignity and respect within local government.

“It’s a little distressing what’s going on in town government in Berne,” Lippert said, referring to the actions of the GOP-backed administration that wrested control of the town from long-dominant Democrats in 2020. He added that ever since the GOP-backed administration of Supervisor Sean Lyons took control of the board, the town has been “the laughing-stock of the Northeast.”

“People from Westerlo and California and everywhere else watch what’s going on in Berne to see the backbiting and fighting and it’s just — we’re embarrassing,” Lippert said. “People spend a lot of money to buy a house out here and raise their families. It should be a place that’s respected. It shouldn’t be a circus in the newspaper every single week, month after month after month. 

“I’m going to do what I can to bring dignity and respect back to the Berne town board with our Democratic team,” Lippert went on, “which is a strong one.”

Lippert is in favor of the town promoting and rehabilitating the Switzkill Farm property, which he said is being left derelict by the current town board, who recently approved a motion to get the property appraised, signalling a desire to sell it. The town board also recently voted to discontinue its contract with the property’s caretaker, Nelson Kent, who was living on the property for free in exchange for his services. The property contains a lodge and several other buildings that are in need of repair. 

The town board also disbanded the Switzkill Farm Board, which served as a supervisor of the property, and replaced it with a Recreation and Parks Board that oversees all the town’s parks, which critics say spreads the members too thin considering the vastness of the 350-acre Switzkill Farm Property.

“It’s become very obvious that the current town board …  are not interested in maintaining the structure at Switzkill Farm,” Lippert said. “The roof continues to leak regardless of whether they spent tens of thousands of dollars on roofing replacement, [and] engineering for a chimney. It still continues to leak. It seems like nobody in Berne understands how to counter flash a chimney. It’s a straightforward process. You could Google [it] and stop the leaking of the chimney. 

“I don’t know why the Lyons and Palow team are so opposed to having open space. That’s what everyone comes to Berne for, is the open space and natural resources. We’ve got Partridge Run, Thompsons Lake. We’ve got a number of recreational opportunities in Berne that people find desirable and Switzkill Farm is another facet to that.”

Lippert suggested that the town find a property manager who oversees the marketing of the property and organizes the events held there, like weddings.

“The town board can monitor that,” he said, “and I think that the Switzkill Farm board had a plan and they were moving forward with that, and the rug was pulled out from them with this elimination of boards and committees.”

Regarding town board oversight of other town departments, Lippert was especially critical of Highway Superintendent Randy Bashwinger’s second job with the Albany County Board of Elections, which Lippert said prevents him from supervising town employees adequately. Bashwinger, who receives a salary for his highway position, has said in the past that he logs at least 40 hours a week with the town despite working mornings for the county. 

“There isn’t a one of these guys in the highway department that you couldn’t just turn loose on a task or project,” Lippert said of the other highway workers. “They could be productive and efficient, but everyone needs some sort of oversight, some direction to start their day. I think that’s what we pay managers for, and superintendents. I think the definition of superintendent would probably indicate that somebody needs to be there to oversee what’s going on.”

Regarding more general oversight, Lippert said he wants to see clearer indications of how town money is spent and acquired, and for that information to be available to residents more readily than it is under the current administration. 

“It is virtually impossible to find out what the town board is spending money on on a monthly basis,” Lippert said. “Anita Clayton requires a [Freedom of Information Law] request for everything. I think The Altamont Enterprise [which frequently FOILS for documents] is familiar with that. Other towns provide information. If it’s available and off-hand, other towns provide the information to people quickly with a minimal charge and it ends there. 

“People don’t have to wait 30 days [for] a partial response. [In Berne] you wait 30 days and you get a response that says, ‘That’s too big of a request and is going to take me extra hours, extra days.’”

Clayton, who has been town clerk for nearly eight years, running on the Democratic line in each election, has been criticized by Berne Democrats for obstructing their access to information. Clayton defended herself to The Enterprise earlier this year, saying that she runs all requests for information by the town’s attorney and then provides a date by which the documents will be received based on her workload at that time. 

Returning to the topic of financial information, Lippert said, “Those invoices should be on the table at every town board meeting and the public should be able to get there an hour earlier and review it and find out who are we paying for what, because you really don’t know on a monthly basis. 

“And it’s too late,” Lippert went on, “by the time you find out 21 days later from a FOIL request where money was spent, how much was spent, and you don’t have time to ask the question before it’s too late. Once the money is spent, it’s water over the dam.” 

Of the public’s ability to comment at board meetings, Lippert was unequivocally supportive, calling resident participation “imperative” to government.

“We are there to serve the public,” Lippert said. “We may not like what they have to say but you have to sit there and listen to it. Some of it may be informative. Some people are smart. They might have something nobody thought of before, an idea or a solution.”

Lippert said he does support a three-minute time-limit, though, explaining that it’s “enough time to get any point across.”

Regarding the treatment of town employees and appointed officials, Lippert said that the current administration ignores the provisions already laid out in the town’s employee handbook and “just do what’s politically convenient for them.” 

“I think we need to do a lot better,” Lippert said. “These are our residents. These aren’t people that live out of town or are from anywhere else. These are people that pay our taxes. Also ... we need to take a look at who we’re hiring in the early part of the interview process. Who is this person that you’re hiring? Do a background check, find out what’s this person about, and see if they’re the best qualified person for the job.”

Anita Clayton

Anita Clayton will have been Berne’s Town Clerk for eight years when she retires in December, and had been the deputy town clerk under the late Pat Favreau for eight years prior. She first began working for the town in 1990. 

“I feel that I have a lot of knowledge to bring forward in terms of the inner workings of the town, the town board, our town employees who work so tirelessly to ensure the smooth functioning of our town,” Clayton said this week. “And I just feel that that knowledge could be helpful to the residents.”

Although she’s previously run on the Democratic line for her campaigns as town clerk, Clayton expressed displeasure earlier with the way the Democratic Committee treated her during a candidate interview for this election, but said it did not contribute to her decision to retire.

“Over and over,” Clayton wrote in a letter to the Enterprise editor in February, “I was asked to denounce the current administration. What does that mean to denounce someone? It means to condemn, criticize, attack, censure, revile, and vilify someone. That is not who I am nor is it the role of the town clerk to engage in this kind of behavior toward elected officials of the town, town employees, or town residents.”

That interview related to the clerk’s position; The Enterprise would learn later that Clayton is campaigning for a town board position.

Clayton said this week that the most important factor in this election is experience — “the knowledge and full understanding of how the town functions.”

“I don’t think you can just focus on the board and what you would do and what your duties are as a board member, because they are very specific, with handling the fiscal responsibilities of the town,” Clayton said. “I think it’s also important to have a clear understanding of your employees and how they work in the town and how the whole thing comes together as a whole so that the town board can function, and I think I can bring that knowledge to the table.”

Of Switzkill Farm, Clayton indicated that she sympathized with both perspectives of the property — that which views the park as a precious resource, and that which views it as a burden on taxpayers.

“I think both sides of those arguments are very accurate,” Clayton said. “And I think Switzkill Farm is absolutely beautiful. My daughter got married there and it was absolutely spectacular. However, if it was maybe developed differently from the beginning, it could be in a better place right now. 

“I think that because there’s so much controversy, and the cost to fix it would be enormous to the taxpayer, that the residents really need to have a say in what they see or what they feel would like to happen with the property,” she continued. “It is absolutely gorgeous, I would not want to lose it, but I also would have liked to see it a lot further along than it is right now.

“I think if in the beginning it was developed more to fix it … it could be a lot further along than it is right now. But again, I think you need to hear all the residents speak and not just a handful representing each side.” 

Regarding town board oversight, Clayton was defensive of Highway Superintendent Randy Bashwinger and criticized the view that he had any role in the death of highway worker Peter Becker, who was crushed by a dump truck he was working under at the town transfer station. An investigation by the New York State Public Employee Health and Safety Bureau uncovered seven safety violations that it deemed “serious.”

Regarding those violations, Clayton said that “some of these issues were minor safety issues — and I’m not in any way minimizing what happened to Peter [Becker]; that was a huge loss to the town — and I think putting blame on any one person is just not right to do. 

“The issues with the building at the highway department did not start with this administration,” Clayton went on. “These safety issues and the condition of that highway department have been in existence for a very, very long time. And, again, there is talk of hopefully redoing that whole highway department, which I think is essential because that is such a huge operating department in your town that does need to be addressed. I don’t think the issues there were in direct fault for what happened with Peter, and again, that is just a horrible thing to be using.” 

Of oversight in general, Clayton was supportive, saying that she doesn’t think that “people really understand how everything works from the bottom right up to the top,” and that, as clerk, she knew how difficult it could be at times to stay on top of the regulatory requirements, such as the timely deposit of money. 

“I think there is absolutely room for improvement,” Clayton said. “I think it’s very important for the board to work together as a whole … to oversee everything in the town. And I would very much like to be a part of that.” 

Clayton was as supportive of public-comment periods as her opponent, calling them “absolutely necessary,” but spent more time discussing the ways in which it hindered, rather than aided, town government.

“I think the public comment should be constructive in what the residents would like to see,” Clayton said, “or maybe offer some examples or some help in how they think a problem should be fixed. And again, that it really does need to be limited … There is so much business that needs to be handled in a town board meeting that if two hours are filled up with people not being very constructive, it takes away from the board being able to get things done.”

Regarding personnel issues, Clayton said that the town tries to give notice to terminated employees, but said there’s a difference between an appointed official and a hired employee.

“With the employees being appointed,” Clayton said, “those employees on those boards are appointed positions. They were always just automatically reappointed. What happened with all of that, I can’t attest to, but I think that this year letters were sent out asking people if they wanted to renew their appointment when their appointment was up because it was just always automatic. And I know that some people felt like ‘Why do they always get it? Why are you not advertising?’”

Clayton said that, with employees, the town already reviews their performance after a six-month probationary period, during which they’re considered “temporary” employees.

“People are hired as temporary part-time until they complete their six-month review and then a review is done,” Clayton said. “However, if things happen after that time, things happen. And again, it’s hard for me to get into without talking about different instances that have happened. We try and give notice, but we don’t let go of that many people. But again, people who are appointed and people who are hired are two very different categories.”