Mayor Valerie Keehn and Public Works Commissioner Thomas McTygue have both released memos to the rest of the Saratoga Springs City Council regarding the increased breaches of order during council meetings, as well as the expected conduct of public officials at those meetings.
At the year’s first council meeting, held Wednesday, Jan. 3, David Bronner took to the microphone during the public comment period to criticize McTygue’s performance as head of the public works department. McTygue responded, and the exchange escalated as it has in past meetings.
This time, however, Keehn attempted to quell the argument by calling the rest of the council to her office to speak privately for five minutes, in order to reconvene when we can act like grown-ups.
McTygue and Bronner continued their exchange, until the mayor spoke privately to Bronner.
In a later interview, McTygue said he did not join the rest of the council in the rear chamber of the meeting room because it would have constituted an illegal meeting.
Keehn called McTygue’s reasoning `convenient,` and said she was not calling an official meeting. `It was just a recess to gain control.`
McTygue also said that the mayor has little control over the meetings and even less so when someone is advocating her agenda. Bronner has been an outspoken supporter of the mayor’s charter revision effort and an outspoken critic of McTygue, who is strongly opposed to changing the commission style of government.
`The mayor needs to control those meetings,` he said. `The problem is, when someone is attacking me, she doesn’t stop them.`
McTygue said the mayor adheres to a loose time constraint for some speakers during the public comment period, but to no constraint at all for others. He noted that the public comment period is supposed to last only 15 minutes but has extended to 30 minutes or more on some occasions. Those who share the same views as the mayor, or wish to criticize McTygue or the Department of Public Works, he said, are usually given free reign at the microphone.
`To let those who have their own personal agenda run those meetings is not fair to the people,` said Director of Public Works Bill McTygue. `She has let the public comment part of these meetings get so out of hand that the normal course of business gets disrupted.`
To combat this, Thomas McTygue drafted a memo to his fellow members of the city council proposing the public comment period be moved to the end of the meeting.
`Forcing paid consultants and other city employees to standby and wait to address the legitimate business of the council is both costly and counterproductive,` the memo reads.
Keehn said making the public wait until the end of a meeting is unacceptable and has drafted a memo of her own.
`I understand what his point is,` said Keehn after receiving McTygue’s memo, `but if all of the council members behave themselves responsibly and professionally, we conduct the meetings as they’re scheduled. I believe the members of the public need to be heard first, before wading through a three-hour meeting.`
Keehn said having the comment period up front is beneficial because oftentimes residents want to comment on something that happened at the previous meeting.
Keehn said she also takes issue with McTygue’s assertion that she allows her supporters more freedom at the microphone than other members of the public.
`I try to be fair to anybody who steps up to the mic,` she said. `Everybody has the right to come up to the mic. I expect them to be respectful, but any member of the public has the right to question the actions or behavior of a public official. I’ve sat through public comment periods where people question what I’ve done, and I don’t gavel them down. It’s sort of the business model of city government ` the customer is always right.`
The Saratoga Springs City Council also:
Set public hearings for moratoriums on adult uses and development at Saratoga Lake. The hearing for adult uses will be held before the next meeting, Jan. 16, at 6:55 p.m. The council accepted legislation for the development moratorium, which would stop any development that would not connect to the overstressed county sewer system, and sent it to the planning board for an advisory opinion. The public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 20.
Heard Finance Commissioner Matthew McCabe suggest that if the Lillian’s parking lot is sold, the money be set aside as annuity to collect interest to finance parking maintenance. An appraisal on the lot will be ready for the next meeting. Members of the public said there was a petition of the sale circulating with approximately 50 signatures on it.
Heard Keehn appoint Pell Kennedy to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Kennedy has worked as an administrator at Skidmore College and in renovation, remodeling and new construction in Saratoga Springs and Albany.“