Reagon holds budget from public


 


AMENIA— Despite requests from Councilman Wayne Euvrard and members of the public, town Supervisor Janet Reagon said she would not let the public view the tentative budget. Robert Freeman, executive director of the state’s Committee on Open Government, says that decision does not comply with the intent of the law.

 

During Thursday night’s Town Board meeting, Euvrard said that several members of the public have asked for a copy of the town’s tentative budget and have all been turned down.

"I went into Town Hall the other day and a couple days ago and some taxpayers wanted a copy of the tentative budget, so I went into the clerk’s office and asked for a copy and she didn’t have any," Euvrard said. "So I went into the supervisor’s office for a copy, but she denied a request for the copy. To me I think the tentative budget is a public record, and it shows that there is a 40 percent increase. It makes no sense to me that a public document cannot be shown to the taxpayers."

Reagon said that the tentative budget was not for public consumption.

"To me, it is a work in progress," Reagon said. "The Town Board as a whole has not signed off on it yet. We have extensive planning to do and there are still many unanswered questions."

However, Freeman said that Reagon is not complying with state statutes by holding the tentative budget from public viewing.

He cites article eight, section 108 of town law statutes that states that "...a copy of the preliminary budget is available at the office of the town clerk where it may be inspected by any interested person during office hours."

"A tentative budget, in my opinion, must be disclosed to the public," Freeman said. "There’s nothing in town law that states that it’s not public, so it’s covered under the freedom of information law."

While he said Reagon was failing to comply with state statutes, he stopped short of calling the action illegal.

"Some people might use the word ‘illegal’ instead of ‘failure to comply,’" he said. "I’m not a judge, so I can’t use the word ‘illegal,’ but this is clearly a failure to comply with the law."

After the meeting, when Town Clerk Gail Hermosilla was asked for a copy of a tentative budget, she said that giving out a copy would be "problematic."

"The version I have of the budget was made on Oct. 5," Hermosilla said. "There has been many changes and corrections to it since then. You need to submit a FOIL [Freedom of Information Law] request."

Reagon was not in Town Hall this week and could not be reached for further comment.

style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: cheltenham light dtc"despite requests from councilman wayne euvrard and members of the public, town supervisor janet reagon said she would not let the public view the tentative budget. robert freeman, executive director of the state’s committee on open government, says that decision does not comply with the intent of the law.>

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