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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Questions swirl around city
Civil Service Commission
Continued from page 1
The questions arrive two weeks after two commission
members failed to appear at a meeting scheduled at
city hall, forcing the meeting to be adjourned due
to a lack of a quorum. By the time the commission
meeting was adjourned, Mills was arguing with city
residents frustrated over the lack of attendance by the
commissioners.
Other questions posed by the mayor included, “How
does the commission and the civil service administrator
interact? What are the lines, duties and boundaries? How
does that work?” Kennedy said she wanted some clarity
so, “we have some idea of what this commission is doing
and how it functions.”
Councilwoman Cindy Holmes, a former commission
member, accused the mayor of attacking the commission.
“You want to take this department down,” Holmes said.
“You want to take it out of Newburgh.”
Holmes went on. “You don’t want Latinos and blacks
and (poor people) to be able to walk to these jobs,”
she said, claiming the commission assists residents,
including Latinos and people of color, to obtain jobs.
“There are very few of them who get jobs here in the City
of Newburgh.”
Kennedy denied she was against providing jobs for
minorities. She said her questions had nothing “to do
with saying I didn’t support minority jobs.”
“I think it’s important for the public to know, not just
me,” Kennedy said. “All the questions I have put forth
are reasonable, legitimate questions which any board
member of any board should be able to answer in any of
our boards across the city.”
Kennedy noted that the commission members are the
only paid board members in the city. City of Newburgh
Corporation Council Michelle Kelson said commissioner
terms are six years.
When asked whether it was legal for Gadbois to
continue serving as commission chair long after his term
was up, Kelson referred to New York Public Officers Law,
which states, “an officer whose term is fixed… shall,
unless the office shall terminate or be abolished, hold
over and continue to discharge the duties of his office,
after the expiration of the term for which he shall have
been chosen, until his successor shall be chosen and
qualified.”
“All of this has (come) to this point, I’m sorry, because
of Chief Cameron,” said Holmes, referring to a lawsuit
filed by the City Manager Michael Ciaravino and the
city police Chief Dan Cameron seeking to prevent the
commission from offering an open exam for the position
of police chief.
“The city manager put it in court without council
confirmation or notification and the judge made a
decision,” said Holmes, speaking just weeks after filing
her own lawsuit against the city regarding data lost from
a city-issued iPad.
Kennedy admitted questions did crop up following the
lawsuit, which failed to stop the test after the commission
determined not to amend requirements for a promotional
test for Cameron. Seven people took the open police chief
test in March. Holmes noted that Cameron chose not to
take the open test.
“Across the state and at the national level, our current
police chief is highly regarded as competent, extremely
qualified and is doing an excellent job,” said the mayor,
and has made strong connections with the community.
“At the same time, we have a civil service commission that
has, by their rules, determined that he’s not qualified.”
Kennedy added, “I see that as a dilemma.”
Councilwoman Hillary Rayford interjected that Cameron
and his staff were doing a “supreme job” policing the
city. “We thank you and the entire team,” she said. “We
need you guys more than anything.”
Holmes described Kennedy’s line of questioning as
“retaliatory.” Holmes claimed Mills would be willing
to share information with the mayor if asked. Kennedy
pointed out that Mills and the commissioners were
invited to the meeting that night, but didn’t attend. “They
didn’t want to come and be bullied,” said Holmes.
Councilman Torrance Harvey followed, “It’s not a
trial, it’s a dialogue.”
Harvey cautioned Holmes against using inflammatory
language. “We’ve got to be careful with words and what
we say,” Harvey said. “She as the mayor of this city has a
list of questions about how this civil service commission
functions.”
Harvey said questions were also being asked by
constituents. He said he didn’t want to outsource the
civil service commission to the county, but felt it was the
responsibility of the council to make sure the commission
was functioning properly.
“Let’s find out the facts,” Harvey said. “It’s our
fiduciary responsibility to ask those questions and make
sure they’re functioning the way that they are supposed
to function.”
Councilwoman Regina Angelo suggested Mills meet
with the council. “The mayor has good questions,” said
Angelo. “Why can’t we just have her come and meet with
the council? We’ll ask the questions.”
Councilwoman Genie Abrams said the city pays $20,000
of Mills’ salary. “We could save at least $20,000 by having
the county take over that function,” she said.
Councilwoman Karen Mejia said hiring someone to
handle human resources would help to solve some of the
issues regarding the civil service commission. “In order
to create the position, we have to draft a proposed job
description,” city Corporation Counsel Kelson explained.
“It has to be presented to the civil service commission
and adopt