An ongoing political skirmish between Guilderland Town Board members has yielded fresh banter over another controversial issue.
Confusion over the stipend for the chairman of the economic development council, a position formerly held by Donald Csaposs, has led to accusations between opposing party members on the Town Board.
Csaposs is a provisionally appointed grant writer for Guilderland and formerly held a position as economic development council chairman, which he resigned from on April 29.
Republican Councilman Mark Grimm said there is confusion over how much the stipend the replacement for Csaposs will make as chair of the council. Grimm said there is also confusion about how much Csaposs is making now that he is solely a grant writer.
Csaposs and Grimm have a history of bad blood. Ted Danz, chairmen of the Guilderland Republicans accused Csaposs of posting on a local online blog while on town time during the last Town Board elections.
The posts allegedly bashed the two Republican candidates running for the board, Warren Redlich and Mark Grimm.
Grimm said he is critical of Albany County District Attorney David Soares for not actively pursuing the matter.
It’s an easy investigation for Soares, Grimm said. `Politics are what they are.`
Grimm is also critical of town Supervisor Ken Runion for not investigating Csaposs’ blogging as he said he would.
Runion said Town Attorney Richard Sherwood is looking into the matter and has not reported any foul play.
Soares office has not returned calls regarding the investigation.
`Mr. Grimm has a personal vendetta against Mr. Csaposs,` said Runion. `He has no positive comments. No suggestions. Just attack, attack, attack.`
Csaposs’ was appointed as a provisional, or temporary, grant writer by Runion after he resigned as economic development council chairman. Grimm charges that he was not informed when Csaposs was made a provisional employee.
`They revised [Csaposs’] job description without telling me,` Grimm said. `They made a provisional appointment without telling me.`
Grimm said this was a move to try to maneuver the political system.
`He’s been [the Democrats’] attack dog, and that’s why he’s on the payroll,` Grimm said. `He is their chief political operative.`
Runion countered that the nature of the reappointment and statutory regulations regarding informing the board of decisions such as this one, did not require him to inform Grimm.
Runion said Csaposs was a reclassification and has been an employee of the town for many years.
A 5-to-0 vote from the board on Jan. 3, confirmed Runion’s authority to make provisional appointments, according to the meetings minutes.
Grimm said he was ill informed, not just about how much the replacement would make, but about how much Csaposs is making now, in addition to how much he was making while he served as chairman.
A June 3 memo from Stacia Brigadier, personnel administrator for Guilderland, said Csaposs’ annual salary dropped from $55,149 to $50,992 as a result of his resignation, a difference of $4,157.
Csaposs confirmed his annual salary since leaving his position as economic council chair is $50,992.
`I never got a check that broke that stipend out. I just received one check,` Csaposs said. `My belief is that the $4,100 figure [for council chair] is correct. I have no idea the genesis for a lower number or higher number.`
Csaposs’ stipend was $3,000 on January 1, 2001. He said he received a 3 percent raise every year since then, except for 2005, when he received a 4 percent raise.
Grimm said there is still a discrepancy.
He said an Albany County roster card states the provisional appointment of Csaposs as solely a grant writer began on April 23. His salary on that date was $55,149, according to the document. Csaposs was still chair of the economic development committee at that point, but Grimm said the Albany county record should reflect his decreased salary as of April 23.
`The records should be updated and they weren’t,` Grimm said.
He said that the June 3 memo from Brigadier lists Csaposs salary as $50,992, and the roster card should have reflected that number.
`Those two documents are contradictory,` he said.
A Freedom of Information Law Request has been made by Spotlight Newspapers to Albany County and the Town of Guilderland to determine the recorded salary of Csaposs.
Grimm also said Runion inconsistently described the economic development council chair’s stipend over the course of a few days in the end of June, leading to the confusion now.
Runion was quoted in a local publication on Thursday, June 26, that the stipend would be roughly $3,600.
Grimm said that Runion e-mailed him on June 26 and said the pay would be $4,572, the same stipend for a planning or zoning board supervisor.
The Guilderland Web site has the stipend listed as $4,157.
Runion said there was a reason for the confusion.
`We don’t always start people in positions at the same rate of pay. We would pay anywhere up to $4,157 because that’s what I had budgeted,` Runion said.
The stipend is going to be between $3,600 and $4,157, Runion said on Friday, July 18.
He said he also considered $4,572 as a salary because that is what a zoning or planning board chairman gets. The advertised stipend is up listed as up to $4,157, Runion said, but the post does not guarantee that as a starting pay. It lists the stipend as `up to,` that amount.
It was `brainstorming,` he said, of why there were so many different figures.
Right now the economic development council is operating without a replacement for Csaposs.
Runion said the board is trying to come up with a fair starting salary and will hopefully have a new chair by the end of August.
Friday, July 25, is the cutoff date for accepting resumes to the board. “