March 25, 2021 — The recent private meeting regarding contract negotiations between three members of the County legislature with one representative from the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association is an example. Neither the public, nor officials at SCVA, nor the rest of the Legislature were privy to the discourse that took place. Yet, the Chair of the Legislature, in a public statement, tells us that “by April 1 we will be announcing a larger plan”. So, clearly the three GOP legislators have made decisions for the County absent full public meetings, and absent the input of our duly elected representatives.
While this off-the-books meeting may comply with the letter of our Public Meeting Laws, it certainly does not comply with the spirit of the law. The reality is that three GOP legislators turned county business into partisan sport.
We call on these legislators to tell us what was discussed. Tell us why some legislators were chosen to meet, but not others. Tell us why it is necessary to exclude the eyes and ears and voices of the people. But, more importantly, we call on the Chair of the Legislature to treat the public and his fellow elected officials with the respect they deserve.