Town board revisits nepotism rules, addresses village remarks

The Woodbury Town Board at the August 1 meeting voted against approving an amendment to the section of its ethics code that deals with the hiring and management of family members by town employees and instead directed their counsel to review the code and draft an entire revision. The decision was prompted by residents who expressed their views that amending one section of the code would not go far enough to address broader ethical concerns. In addition, some commentors worried about how future boards might interpret the code and urged the current board not to rush into making changes.

During the public hearing for the proposed amendment to the section dealing with nepotism in hiring, the town counsel explained that the previous code was poorly drafted, and that the new language strengthens the provision. The counsel agreed that the ethics code has problems and should be rewritten. However, he shared his view that it is better to address one section of the code and have those changes on record rather than keep a bad provision while the town waits for an entire new code, which could take months to implement.

Pool work

At the meeting, the board approved two job orders for the walking bridge at the town pool. Supervisor Kathryn Luciani explained that this project was being funded via a FEMA grant and thanked those involved.

In other pool matters, one resident spoke out against the presence of cabanas in the facility, claiming they create a hostile environment. She said the cabanas lead to conflicts between residents and pose an unfair burden on the parks staff responsible for monitoring them.

Beautification

The Beautification Committee report, presented by chair Maria Hunter, evolved into a debate over its role within the town and village. Hunter shared that she intends to reduce the committee’s budget from $52,000 to $25,000 for the next year and claimed that it was because of Councilwoman Sandra Capriglione, who accused her of working on projects located within the village, which is outside of the committee’s purview. Capriglione said she was present at a meeting where Woodbury Village Mayor Andrew Giacomazza announced that he was creating another Beautification Committee and outlined projects that Hunter was working on under the town’s committee. The councilwoman also claimed that these projects were part of the town committee’s August report. Hunter confirmed that she has been asked by the village to be part of their Beautification Committee and said that the focus there would be on preservation.

Town vs village

The tension between the town and village was further acknowledged by Councilwoman Teresa Luongo, who said, “It’s very disheartening to see the same few individuals who were once supportive now attempting to tarnish our board’s reputation and harm the innocent people working for our town.” Luongo addressed the village’s proposed plan to bring the police department and animal shelter under their jurisdiction and said they could create their own, which she said would be a waste of taxpayers’ money, and affirmed the town’s support of their departments.

Supervisor Luciani called for more positivity and greater unity. “I like to see the people working for each other, spreading the knowledge, the history of how things happen here in Woodbury, and if we could just focus on that and be kinder, it would be a lot better.”