Monroe infighting turns to vouchers, grant access

The Monroe Town Board argued over the appropriateness of certain reimbursements for councilmembers and the permitted actions of individual members during their June 3 meeting, sparking discussion from both councilmembers and the public over the partisan nature of the board.

At the meeting, Councilwoman Mary Bingham motioned to table the board’s discussion of general fund abstracts, claiming some vouchers lacked enough signatures for approval. When prompted she pointed to a specific approved reimbursement for Monroe Town Supervisor Anthony Cardone’s automobile travel to the WBTQ radio station in Warwick, on which he has appeared as a guest multiple times.

Cardone called out Bingham for approving the reimbursement in the past and claimed she stopped approving it based on Councilwoman Maureen Richardson’s objections. Bingham responded by saying she stopped approving the reimbursements last year and believed the supervisor’s radio appearances had little relevance to the town of Monroe.

Cardone disagreed, adding that he has been on the radio station since 2018 and that the town has benefitted from the relationships this built with others in the county. He also said that his radio appearances help promote town events.

“I have people come up to me and say they heard about it through radio station. If after six years you really want to put a kibosh on this, then I’ll be happy to stop going to the radio station and we will see how much of a decline we have in what’s been going on in the town,” said Cardone.

Richardson commented on Cardone’s radio appearances, alleging that he represents himself as an individual and a politician and that the town board has no input on what is said. She claimed that some constituents complained about this and said that the supervisor spoke unkindly to Monroe residents who called in. She also noted Cardone’s ability to call in from Monroe, thus negating the need to drive to the station.

Richardson also took issue with her reimbursement requests being denied on what she alleges was a lack of signatures. She shared how she thought the same action should apply in respect to all voucher approvals. Counsel for the town provided clarification regarding signatures, saying that it is not a statuary mandate that three signatures were needed on vouchers and that board minutes would suffice for approval. He added that signing vouchers is for the purpose of showing they were reviewed and audited.

Bingham motioned to have the item related to Cardone’s travel to WBTQ removed from the abstract, she and Richardson were the sole votes of approval and the motion did not pass. Richardson and Bingham were also the sole nay votes on the motion to approve the general fund abstract as a whole.

Following the passage of the abstract, Cardone addressed Bingham, saying, “It’s appalling you even brought this up.”

Richardson responded in support of Bingham by saying the discussion clarified things and set precedent for the inappropriate removal of her voucher.

Richardson’s claims of mistreatment as a board member continued during a discussion sparked by the approval of the use of Millennium Strategies for grant writing services. Cardone took issue with the idea that, as Richardson claimed, every council member should be able to use Millennium Strategies services.

“When you say anyone can use the grant company it creates a little bit of crossing lines,” said Cardone.

Counsel said a council member cannot apply for a grant without board approval, while noting that the board can establish how they want to handle the process.

“I don’t think you should have a situation where five council persons are contacting the grant company,” counsel said.

Richardson disagreed and claimed that the grant company was okay with being contacted by multiple parties, as certain department heads may have more knowledge over the liaison, which Cardone claimed he was.

Speaking to Cardone, Richardson said he was denying the public the ability to allow their elected officials to do research and work with the town’s consultants.

Councilwoman Dorey Houle noted that she speaks with the supervisor before she applies for a grant. Richardson said this was a challenge for her as she was told not to speak with him. Houle responded that the way Richardson speaks with the supervisor is disrespectful.

During public comment, resident Dan Burke pointed to Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus’s statement regarding the importance of bipartisanship and the effectiveness of the county legislature, despite differing political views.

“This town board does not have to be so adversarial. Find some ways to reach out to be to be open to build something here so that we can get good government in the town of Monroe,” said Burke.

Other business

In other grant-related news, the town of Monroe will be applying for a grant through the Environmental Facilities Corporation for infrastructure improvements to Water District 14.

The board authorized their counsel to draft a resolution outlining its objections to the short-term rental application located at 649 Lakes Road, citing such issues as insufficient privacy, proximity between the property and neighbor, and parking issues.

Affirming the board’s consensus regarding the application, Houle said, “There are so many issues with the property and the fact that it is seemingly impossible to provide any type of expected privacy because the house is so close to the property line.”

In other short-term rental news, the town board closed the public hearing for 13 Ruby Road and said it would make a determination at its June 17 meeting. During the hearing the board heard from the residents of neighboring 14 Ruby Road, who emphasized their objections to the application. They claimed 13 Ruby Road operated a bed and breakfast without a permit, thus disqualifying them from obtaining a short-term rental permit for a time. The board’s counsel clarified that this limitation only applies if the party seeking a short-term rental application had received violations from the town. The applicant representative said that all required conditions for approval have been met, including privacy screening and new rules to address past issues with short-term renters.

The town also continued its review of the short-term rental application for 21 Front Street. During the public hearing, the owner claimed he applied with the current lot line. However, the board pointed to issues with the lot line going through his deck and the need for planning board conditions to be met.