Town officials withdrew a motion to dismiss lawsuits filed by the employees who were disciplined for their involvement in a controversial paving job at the West Albany Rod and Gun Club in the spring of 2007.
By reversing the motion to dismiss, town officials now have 10 days to convince a judge that they did have the authority to discipline William Neeley, the town’s former public works operations supervisor, and Thomas Romano, formerly a highway maintenance supervisor.
Also during the 10-day period, the town has extended a restraining order against the town’s Civil Service Officer Michael Foley, barring him from conducting his own hearings or writing a decision before a judge has heard the case.
According to Town Attorney Michael Magguilli, We just want the status quo to stay the same until the court can decide.
Neeley and Romano filed a lawsuit in September saying that only their immediate supervisors, not Town Supervisor Paula Mahan or the town board, had the authority to discipline them. At that time, the two had been suspended without pay from July to August for their involvement in paving the Rod and Gun Club parking lot using town materials and personnel in 2007. An audit in mid-June by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that paving the lot was not in the best interest of the taxpayers. The comptroller determined that town officials could have opted for cheaper options that could have saved as much as $48,000.
The town began hearings about Neeley’s and Romano’s involvement shortly after suspending the men without pay in July. Neeley and Romano returned to work in August because town could no longer legally suspend them without pay. Their lawsuit claims that only the highway superintendent or commissioner of the department of public works has the authority to discipline them.
As the hearings concluded in August, Bethlehem Judge Paul Dwyer recommended in November that the men receive a 60-day suspension without pay. The recommendations found the men at fault for some aspects of what town officials considered to be inappropriate decisions regarding the paving job, but stated that Neeley and Romano did not act illegally in the incident.
A few weeks later, on Thursday, Dec. 4, the Town Board decided to reject the recommendation that said Neeley and Romano did not act illegally, as well as the recommendation for a 60-day suspension, and voted in favor of demoting both the two to positions with significant pay cuts.
Neeley was demoted to senior civil engineering technician, with a $13,176 pay cut. Romano was demoted to civil engineering technician, with a $9,804 pay cut.
The men have been working in their new positions since early December, but filed an appeal three weeks ago against the findings and actions that left them demoted.
According to Magguilli, all proceedings regarding the case are adjourned until Friday, Jan. 16, when the town and Neeley and Romano’s lawyer return to court.
According to United Public Service Employees Union Regional Coordinator Kathy Wright, the decision that will come from the Jan. 16 proceedings on the original September lawsuits could reverse all that has been done to the employees already. Wright said that if a judge decides in favor of Neeley and Romano that the town supervisor did not have the authority to discipline the employees, they will be able to return to their original positions.
It could take months for a decision,` she added.
Still, Wright said, it is Neeley and Romano’s belief that the town is trying to deliberately complicate the situation.
`The town is trying to muddy the waters as much as possible,` she said.
Neeley and Romano are also awaiting a decision to be made on the appeals that were filed this month, which Wright said will also be pushed back until after the Jan. 16 court proceedings.
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