Open Government

See also Open Meetings Law    Freedom of Information Law

April 15, 2008
During the Courtesy of the Floor, Ray Arnold questioned why the board had not responded to a question he raised at an earlier meeting about why correspondence received by the supervisor and board was not acknowledged and/or read out at meetings. He also said that he felt the board was “running through” meetings and wanted to know why nothing had been said that evening about the April 9th joint meeting with Cortlandt and Peekskill about the Sustainable Development Study. He also questioned who was going to be doing the work to prepare the Legacy Ballfields, the town or an outside contractor.

At the conclusion of the Courtesy of the Floor segment, Councilman Bianco said that he had sent the board a memo on April 3rd questioning how mail to the town was being handled, noting that in recent months he had been getting considerably less mail than previously but didn't know why. Councilman Metz and Supervisor Peters said that they were looking into the matter.

In response to Mr. Arnold's comments about the board “running through meetings,” he noted that the town's past supervisor was criticized for having meetings that ran too long.

On the issue of correspondence, Town Clerk Alice Roker said 1990 when she became clerk, the board had never acknowledged the receipt of correspondence at its public meetings.

On the Legacy Ballfields, it was explained that town staff would be doing the initial excavation for the Legacy Ballfields.

Councilman Campisi said that he and Councilmman Bianco discussed the April 9th Sustainable Development Study meeting on their cable broadcast on Channel 20. (Note: this program is usually broadcast several times a day on Sat and Sun.)

April 22, 2008 work session
Media Relations
Councilman Bianco raised the issue of an earlier memo from Supervisor Peters to department heads advising them that all media inquiries had to be handled by his office. He said that when he raised the issue prior to last week's board meeting, he thought that the memo, which he characterized as a "gag order" would be rescinded but as he had not received anything from the supervisor's office he was raising the issue again. He asked what right the supervisor had to tell department heads that they could not speak to the press. Councilman Campisi took exception to Mr. Bianco's characterization of the memo which he said was not a gag order and which he had no problem with.

In response, Mr. Peters said that he had written a new memo clarifying the issue. When Mr. Bianco said that he hadn't received it, someone retrieved the memo from Mr. Peter's office and copies were distributed to the rest of the board. Mr. Bianco thanked the supervisor for clarifying the issue.

Councilman Martorano said that he didn't think the memo was an issue.

The new memo states that the restrictions on department heads talking to the media is limited only to matters of active litigation against the town and town officials and that the town's objective is the "honor the First Amendment by improving the free exchange of information."

June 17, 2008
During Courtesy of the Floor, Susan Siegel of Citizens for an Informed Yorktown (and the person writing this summary) asked the board that when they voted on several resolutions on the evening's agenda, that they provide more details about each item, specifically the certiorari settlements and the appointment of a laborer. She also asked for an update on the status of the human resources consultant. (Note: additional information about the certiorari settlements and the laborer appointment were provided during the meeting. There was no response to her question about the human resources consultant.)

During the second Courtesy of the Floor Ms. Siegel commented on incomplete and/or missing resolutions on board agendas and also took note of the board's practice of reconvening open meetings after closed executive sessions when the public was not present to observe votes taken by the board. In the spirit of transparency in government, she asked the board for fuller descriptions of agenda items, more explanation of resolutions before they're voted on, and to hold off voting on issues resolved during closed sessions until the next regular open meeting.

August 5, 2008
Information for public hearings
During Courtesy of the Floor Howard Frank suggested to the board that prior to a public hearing, maps relating to the hearing be available for inspection in the lobby of town hall. Current practice is for the representatives of the applicant to hold on to the maps and put them on an easel in the board room only when the hearing begins. Councilmen Bianco agreed with him that this would be a good idea.

March 3, 2009
Open Meetings Law
During Courtesy of the Floor, Susan Siegel (the person writing this summary) read a statement on behalf of Citizens for an Informed Yorktown regarding the town's compliance with the NYS Open Meetings Law. She questioned why the town did not use its email list to notify the public of the March 2nd special town board meeting and whether the town had met the requirements of the law when it went into closed session.

Responding to her comments, Councilman Campisi noted that the meeting had been advertised in the Journal News.