Perhaps the most notable action at last week’s Saugerties Town Board reorganization meeting was the one it didn’t take: the appointment of Greg Roque to the Ethics Board. Supervisor Fred Costello said the day before the meeting, posts on social media by Roque were disturbing. The board decided to hold off on the appointment until it had a chance to investigate further. While Costello did not elaborate on the content of the posts, a look at Roque’s Facebook page showed many posts extolling guns, some with subtle threats regarding their use. In light of a recent incident of a six-year-old shooting his teacher and critically wounding her, a cartoon showing a very small Little Red Riding Hood saying, “Goodness, Mr. Wolf, I would be happy to give you my basket of goodies, except that my goodies are really a concealed carry 9mm pointed at your you know what.”
Roque, a wounded veteran who is employed as an engineering supervisor is married, with three children.
While an investigation could show that Roque had not crossed any lines that would make his service on the Ethics Board impossible, that would be unlikely, Costello said.
In other news from the reorganization
The board voted unanimously to appoint Howard Post as chairman of the Town of Saugerties Planning Board. Costello said the planners have had an exceptionally busy year, and “there are a number of fairly large projects that they have been contemplating for a long time and I want to take this opportunity to thank all the members for their dedication to doing this work. It’s not very easy and it’s not fun when you’re here till 11:30 or 12 o’clock at night and I’m sincerely grateful for their effort and for the way they have handled themselves. Some of these projects transcend the Saugerties borders and they are treating residents from neighboring communities as though they were Saugerties residents, which I am not surprised, and I am glad they are doing that; it adds credibility to the work they have been doing for quite a while.”
The board then voted to appoint Carole Furman as vice chair of the board and Gina Kinkily as alternate member.
In a discussion of a proposed salary increase for Parks, Recreation, Buildings and Grounds Director Greg Chorvas, Councilman Zach Horton explained why he could not vote to approve the proposed increase for Chorvas or many of the other appointed department heads. “I appreciate very much all the hard work that all the departments did this year. I would be dishonest if I did not say that there are some salaries and stipends that are in place that may be accounted for in our budget but make me a little uncomfortable at the moment. Just a couple of weeks ago we saw New York lawmakers receive a substantial raise and I thought, I have an internal conflict with being a member of this local body now and essentially coming to the taxpayer now with our hand out asking for more.”
Horton explained that he is not against raises; “I would live to give everybody a raise, but I happen to think that the individuals represented in tonight’s agenda are doing a hell of a job.”
Councilman Mike Ivino seconded those sentiments. Costello said that compared with individuals doing similar jobs in other towns, “our employees are still underpaid compared to what other communities might pay, and in addition to that our employees are not immune from inflation.” It is also difficult to recruit employees when nearby towns are paying higher salaries for the same work, he said. Ivino said he agreed with these sentiments, but pointed out that employees of Diaz Ambulance, for instance, earn half of what some department heads earn, “and they still make a living off their $40,000 a year.” Costello, Leeanne Thornton and Peg Nau voted for the increase; Ivino voted “no,” and Horton abstained.
The same voting pattern continued through the appointments of HUD manager, Deb Wells and assessor Frank Orlando.
On the salaries of elected officials, including supervisor [$45,500], receiver of taxes [$47,758], town clerk [$52,000], highway superintendent [$73,626], town board members [$13,000 each] and two town justices [$35,097.50 each], “I wish we could vote on this with our salaries separate,” Ivino said.
“Lisa [Stanley] is one of the lowest paid town clerks in the county, Fred is still one of our lowest paid supervisors, but we’re in public service. That’s my opinion.”
Costello responded that all the government officials, including the town board, are lower paid than many of their peers in smaller towns. “We’re the largest town in Ulster County. We’re not asking to be the highest paid. We’re not here just for the money, but this is a career for some of our employees. None of us are here just for the money, but it is a career for some of our employees and even at $62,000 the town clerk earns significantly less than her peers in communities that are significantly smaller.” Ivino voted yes on the motion; Horton abstained.
Following the meeting, Costello said the fact that employees in Saugerties government earn less than workers in the same jobs in other towns makes it difficult to recruit and retain employees. “We have open positions we can’t fill,” he said. “Applicants tell us the salaries we offer are too low.”
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