Alex Baer has stepped down as acting supervisor in New Paltz, asserting that town board members have refused to pay her for the administrative work performed since Neil Bettez resigned on May 3. Others dispute that account, but the town presently has no one authorized to handle the various pieces of paperwork that keep a government running — including finalizing the police contract.
In an announcement posted to a private Facebook group, Baer wrote that board members “in particular Kitty Brown, have refused to vote to pay me, they have held up important police contracts, and the daily payroll,” and for that reason stepped down on May 23. Baer earned $2,148.00 a year as deputy supervisor.
Bettez had appointed Baer as deputy supervisor at the beginning of the year, openly expressing at the time that Baer would be named to fill in for Dan Torres until the next election. Baer had lost the 2023 election to Brown. While deputy supervisors are usually also voting members of the town council, it is not a requirement.
Julie Seyfert-Lillis has disputed Baer’s account of the events. According to Seyfert-Lillis, payment for Baer at the supervisor’s rate from May 6 through June 6, 2024 was on the agenda, but Brown had at the meeting asked a question about how to properly account for the deputy pay Baer was receiving. Seyfert-Lillis recalls that Baer agreed to research the question, and speculated that perhaps a motion could have been made to approve the payment conditioned on getting the answer to Brown’s impromptu question.
According to Seyfert-Lillis, plans to schedule a special meeting just to get Baer paid were close to completion when Baer resigned, and the acting supervisor was not deterred despite being “implored” by Seyfert-Lillis to stick around through June 6
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