Feathers ruffled at Stony Point’s first meeting of 2018

BY: KATHY KAHN

Stony Point’s Town Board on January 9 held its reorganization meeting before the regular board meeting began, naming both Councilmen Tom Basile and Karl Javenes as deputy supervisors.  The board also reappointed the current Chairs of the Zoning, Planning and Architectural Review Boards, as well as choosing The Rockland County Times as its official newspaper, with the Journal News as alternate.

Before the town board got to the agenda item—appointing the former police department’s secretarial replacement– one town employee asked them to hold an executive session to discuss the matter before making the appointment. The board opted to discuss it in public, saying it was up to the chief to decide on the skill sets needed to fill the position, but union members said they did not take the Civil Service Examination for the “secretarial/information technology” position because no such position existed in the town when the test was given in late 2017.

Apparently, many others within the county took the test, and Moore asked Rockland County Personnel to send him the list of Town of Stony Point residents who passed it. Out of the five candidates, one was chosen—but union members objected to the new hire, saying they would have taken the test themselves had they known such a position would be created by the town.

The board excused themselves and went into executive session outside the meeting room. Upon their return, Supervisor Jim Monaghan asked Town Attorney Brian Nugent to address both the board and the audience on the viability of the objection. Nugent said it was within the police chief’s purview to look for someone with more technical experience than the former secretary had, since computer literacy is an integral part of the position, saying, “We can all agree technology has signifantly changed since 1977.”

Nugent said Moore was looking to fill the position with a person with the qualifications needed to keep pace with the rapid technological changes in law enforcement. The board tabled the appointment until its next meeting on Tuesday, January 23.  Union employees in the audience were clearly disgruntled, not with the woman who had been selected to replace Moore’s former secretary, but with the process.

On a more upbeat note, Town Clerk Joan Skinner swore in Keith Hanson as a new police sergeant. Accompanied by his wife, two toddlers and his parents, Hansen received a hearty round of cheers from residents.