fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Ex-mayoral rival files ethics charges against Kingston’s Steve Noble

by Jesse J. Smith
July 13, 2020
in Politics & Government
5
Ex-mayoral rival files ethics charges against Kingston’s Steve Noble

Kingston Mayor Steve Noble and Ellen DiFalco.

Kingston Mayor Steve Noble and Ellen DiFalco.

A former challenger to Kingston Mayor Steve Noble has filed a formal complaint alleging that his controversial plan to appoint his wife Julie to a senior position in the Department of Public Works violates the city’s ethics law.

Ellen DiFalco, who ran on the GOP line against Democrat Noble in last year’s election, called in a statement Wednesday, Feb. 19 the proposal to provisionally appoint Julie Noble to the newly created position of Deputy Superintendent for Environmental Services “an obvious abuse of power and nepotism.”

DiFalco’s complaint cites two sections of the city’s ethics code. One prohibits city officials from taking any action which would result in a “personal financial benefit” to a family member. The second allegation charges Noble with violating another section of the code covering “the appearance of impropriety.”

The complaint will be heard by the city’s four-member Ethics Board. Separately from DiFalco’s complaint, city Corporation Counsel Kevin Bryant has appealed to the state Attorney General’s Office for guidance on potential ethics issues. In the letter requesting an advisory opinion, Bryant wrote that the city’s current position is that the situation does not pose a conflict as long as Noble recuses himself from the appointment process and leaves it entirely in the hands of the council.

“While we believe that appropriate and necessary provisions have been made to avoid a conflict of interest we believe that special attention and scrutiny of this matter is warranted in order to maintain public confidence in government,” Bryant wrote.

Noble’s plan, announced earlier this month, would fold the Parks & Recreation Department (from which longtime Superintendent Kevin Gilfeather plans to retire in April) into the DPW under the overall control of DPW Superintendent Ed Norman.

Julie Noble, who currently works in Parks & Rec as a sustainability coordinator, would be appointed to the deputy superintendent’s post. In that role she would fulfill the traditional duties of the parks and recreation superintendent as well as oversee the agency’s Sanitation Division and recycling program. If appointed, Julie Noble’s annual salary would rise from its current $53,628 to $73,185.

Steve Noble said that the merger would create efficiencies in the allocation of labor and equipment and clear up confusion about which agency is responsible for maintaining the city’s growing portfolio of open space.

The mayor has also defended his decision to appoint his wife to a senior post pointing to her record of service and accomplishment in Parks & Rec, where she has been employed full-time since 2007. Noble also pointed to his wife’s service as coordinator of the city’s Climate Smart Community program and service as chair of the volunteer Conservation Advisory Council. Noble added that his wife’s appointment would be provisional under state civil service rules, meaning that the job would remain open to other applicants and awarded permanently only after  a testing and selection process.

But Noble’s plan led to a rare public dispute between members of the Common Council last week when Alderwoman Michelle Hirsch (D-Ward 9) called on Council President Andrea Shaut to recuse herself from further deliberations on the proposal. Shaut is dating DPW Chief Norman, something Hirsch said represented a clear conflict of interest. Shaut fired back, accusing Hirsch of using the issue to shift focus away from the more substantive conflict posed by Noble promoting his wife and boosting his own household income through his reorganization plan. Shaut noted that as council president, she does not cast a vote except in the rare case of a tie on the nine-member council. Shaut added that nothing in Noble’s proposal would increase Norman’s salary and that her only role in the process was to ensure a thorough vetting of the plan by appropriate council committees.

On February 13, however, Shaut announced that she would recuse herself from the deliberations on the proposal. Shaut said that she was stepping back, despite the fact that she was not legally required to do so, based on a legal opinion obtained from the New York Conference of Mayors and her reading of the city’s ethics code. Shaut said that the code did not cover dating relationships where the parties do not cohabitate.

“I am not legally required to recuse myself,” wrote Shaut. “Nevertheless, I believe that public officials, when possible, should steer clear of actions that could create an appearance of impropriety which may undermine the public’s trust.”

Tags: freekingston dpw consolidation
Thank you for reading Hudson Valley One. We rely on your support to continue providing local, substantive news. Please check out our subscription options to keep local journalism alive in the Hudson Valley.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Airbnb rental permission requests dominate Woodstock planning meetings

Next Post

New Paltz board offers diversity of views on plan to map environmentally sensitive areas

Jesse J. Smith

Related Posts

Join BioBlitz in Woodstock
Environment

Woodstock board weighs consequences of land designation in Zena

June 30, 2022
Shrestha upsets Cahill while Hochul, Delgado prevail in Dem primaries
Politics & Government

Shrestha upsets Cahill while Hochul, Delgado prevail in Dem primaries

June 30, 2022
Woodstock assessor Marc Plate retiring
Politics & Government

Saugerties code aide retires, comes back part time

June 25, 2022
Election 2018: Who’s on the ballot?
Politics & Government

State primaries are June 28

June 24, 2022
Discovering how to fix the Discovery Institute
Politics & Government

Saugerties planner Ken Goldberg resigns

June 24, 2022
Two carriers now up & running on Gardiner cell tower
Politics & Government

Gardiner greenlights controversial cell tower at Highway Garage site

June 23, 2022
Next Post
Black vultures, formerly a southern bird, now a regular sight in the Hudson Valley

New Paltz board offers diversity of views on plan to map environmentally sensitive areas

Please login to join discussion

Trending News

  • Shrestha upsets Cahill while Hochul, Delgado prevail in Dem primaries 1.8k views
  • AutoCamp Catskills brings fleet of Airstreams to former Saugerties KOA 1.8k views
  • Planned auto repair shop in Saugerties concerns neighbors 1.3k views
  • No contractors available for Saugerties schools work 523 views
  • Shaggy lawns may mean fines in Saugerties 515 views







Latest HV1 Podcast

Weather

Kingston
◉
75°
Clear
5:24am8:35pm EDT
Feels like: 75°F
Wind: 2mph SW
Humidity: 62%
Pressure: 30.09"Hg
UV index: 0
FriSatSun
93/70°F
88/61°F
86/57°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Ulster County COVID-19 Active Cases

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing