It’s par for the course. What would a meeting of Woodstock’s current town board be without disputatious conflict between town supervisor Bill McKenna and town councilmember Bennet Ratcliff about high legal fees, unpaid vendor bills, questionable environmental testing, or alleged sexual harassment of town employees? Last week’s meeting checked all four of the boxes.
At the July 23 meeting, councilmember Ratcliff wanted JH Consulting to explain what led to erroneously issuing results showing below reportable levels of PFOS in the town water supply, only for those to be corrected later.
“I think that we need to be clear, there are still no answers as to why JH Consulting submitted an incorrect test and why you, supervisor McKenna, circulated the incorrect test results,” Ratcliff said. “I’m wanting to know why we’re paying a voucher when we still haven’t had any answers on this. The people who are responsible for this error need to come forward, and we need to know why did it take place.”
He called for a public presentation by JH to explain its testing regimen and its findings, and “discuss how the error happened and to set the public schedule to test the water.”
McKenna agreed to ask JH, but has since changed his mind. He said it was up to Ratcliff to make the arrangements, since it was he who had raised the issue.
JH Consulting conducted follow-up testing in May after the 2023 annual report showed PFOS levels of 3.48 parts per trillion, up from 0.86 ppt the previous year. Initially the follow-up results were below reportable levels, but those results were incorrectly copied and pasted. The adjusted result was 2.39 ppt. The increase from the 0.86 level reported in 2022 has alarmed some residents.
The state threshold before action is required is 10 ppt. The federal EPA lowering of its limit to 4 ppt is not yet in effect. The increase alarmed by the spike from the 0.86 level reported in 2022.
Not paying the bills
Ratcliff also raised objections to vouchers for legal services from Girvin & Ferlazzo representing the town against lawsuits filed by three officers and a former dispatcher alleging a culture of sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it.
“It has gone on too far, and it needs to stop,” Ratcliff said. “Supervisor McKenna, you have the ability to stop wasting money on legal fees and enforce the zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy you claim.” He called a different invoice as “another waste of tax dollars on endless legal fees at 10 Church Road.”
Ratcliff called on McKenna to stop wasting money on legal fees and to enforce the town dumping law. “I move to pull these three legal fees out, and we will we will discuss them and not pay them until questions are answered,” he said.
Councilmember Anula Courtis agreed. The motion carried.
McKenna assumed the JH Consulting voucher was included in the motion and that it was also pulled from approval.
“Several of the bills were removed, and it’s going to come back to haunt the town because we should be paying for services. We have always paid for services in the past that have been rendered. And because he’s not happy with something, he convinced two other board members to pull them,” McKenna argued. “It’s going to come back to bite us because one of the companies, JH Consulting, does our water testing, and the water district has two tests up with them right now. And we have two tests that have to go in next week for various things.”
McKenna resisted non-payment. Politics was at work, he suggested. “There’s a schedule these things — weekly, monthly, bimonthly — and who would want to continue to do business if they’re not getting paid?”
McKenna said another company, Environmental Labworks, was getting nervous. “They were going to do the next round of PFOS testing, and now they’re concerned, and my sense is they’ll probably want to get paid before they release the results. So it puts us in a terrible position, and it’s all for political gain.”
McKenna said Ratcliff had spent time in the supervisor’s office going over vouchers, but hadn’t taken the opportunity to ask him questions.
“Instead he waited to grandstand at a meeting,” the town supervisor charged. “And we’re talking about people trying to make a living here and doing a task for the town and not getting paid. We will get a terrible reputation if this continues. We’re going to find it hard for people to want to work for the town.”
Some kind of favoritism?
Retired police officer and current dispatcher Carol Sass spoke at Public Be Heard about problems plaguing the police department and questioned why officer Phil Sinagra was still on paid leave.
“Although the work atmosphere at this point may not be toxic, it’s certainly tense and unpleasant,” Sass said. The situation as it exists now is the most disgusting and embarrassing that I’ve seen in all my 43 years working for the town. I’m referring, of course, to the widely publicized and well-known allegations of threatening sexual and racist comments.”
She questioned whether Sinagra had been properly vetted prior to his being hired for a previous history of problems.
“The town has been put on notice multiple occasions that officer Phil Sinagra was responsible for many of racist and misogynist comments impacting other employees,” Sass continued. “I’ve spoken to my coworkers — I get along with everybody — victimized by this disgusting behavior and by the inaction and retaliation of supervisors. The issue has now gone beyond the local jurisdiction and the EEOC, and there has been a lawsuit filed. The complainants are asking for a jury trial and half a million dollars as a settlement. Because of this, the town is forced to pay very expensive attorneys and labor consultants to defend itself.”
Sass said in a federal complaint that the town had refused to hire an independent investigator, and instead relied on an “inadequate” review by McKenna.
McKenna told Sass her allotted three minutes were up, but she tried to finish the last sentences of her comments. “Sinagra is being paid 20 hours a week while he is suspended,” she said. “This is a burden on me as a taxpayer and an insult to the other hard-working employees of the town who have to actually get dressed, show up and do their jobs. I think this needs to be ceased immediately. There’s no precedent for him to be paid as a part timer. It’s not in the contract. It’s not in law. This is very clearly some kind of favoritism, and it needs to stop right now. If you live in town, you’re paying that.”
At that point, McKenna packed up the microphones, ended the Zoom call, and started to walk out of the room.
Asked later why he had ended the meeting, McKenna said some of the audience was being unruly. Some had shouted, “Let her finish,” while Sass attempted to continue speaking.
Childish behavior charged
McKenna defended the decision to defend the police lawsuits.
“There’s a process, and we’re dealing with the process. And it’s a slow process. I’m not thrilled with how long it’s taking, but it’s a process.”
McKenna doesn’t disagree that the matter should be settled by now, but there are discussions with attorneys. It takes time.
He said Ratcliff shouldn’t be “running his mouth in public” about legal matters involving the town.
“We’re public officials, we’re here to do the public’s work, but that doesn’t mean we have to sit there and tolerate childish behavior,” McKenna said.
“And yelling in a meeting is childish behavior. So I really do hope it comes to an end. My first five or six years as supervisor, we just didn’t have that problem. People were respectful and we respected one another. And it’s sad where we’ve gotten to.”
Ratcliff did not return phone messages or emails requesting comment or clarification of his objections to the vouchers.
Join the family! 
