In an unprecedented move, Bettez names former council member as deputy supervisor

When Dan Torres resigned from the New Paltz Town Council in August, the duties of deputy supervisor were passed to Alex Baer, who was defeated in the primary and is now no longer a member of this board. Despite a large number of public interviews, Torres’ seat has yet to be filled pending the next election. At the reorganizational meeting, supervisor Neil Bettez appointed Baer as deputy, explaining that being a member of the town council is not a requirement. The job of the deputy supervisor is to serve as an emergency contact, should the supervisor be unavailable. 

Bettez explained that this appointment is not subject to a vote, but that being made deputy supervisor does not grant that individual voting rights, “unless they get appointed to be a voting member of the board.” Baer’s name was not listed on the posted agenda, and the decision elicited facial expressions from Julie Seyfert-Lillis and Esi Lewis that may have been indicative of surprise. 

The deputy supervisor is supposed to make $10,127, which is $2,418 more than a town council member. Brown asked if Baer would be earning that, and Bettez quickly suggested that council members could vote to pay only the difference instead. 

“Have we ever had a deputy not be on the town board?” Lewis asked. 

“No,” Bettez confirmed. “I would like to make a motion to appoint Alex to fill the vacancy on the board,” but only if other council members don’t wish to interview more candidates first. The urgency for the deputy position stems from a state requirement to have someone appointed to role within five days, else council members must vote to select someone. “It’s my deputy, and I’d like to appoint someone.” 

“I’d like to exhaust the possibility of it being someone who’s on the board,” Lewis said. 

While it was clear that no vote was needed, council members appeared somewhat uncomfortable with this unorthodox approach. There were a number of questions raised about what a deputy would be empowered to do under these circumstances, and Bettez referred council members to New York state town law for details.