REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING MARCH 3, 2009
A regular Meeting of the Town Board of Guilderland was held at the Town Hall, Route 20 McCormick's Corners, Guilderland, NY, on the above date at 7:30 pm. The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Roll call by Rosemary Centi, Town Clerk, showed the following to be present:
Councilman Redlich
Councilwoman Slavick
Councilman Pastore
Councilman Grimm
Supervisor Runion
ALSO PRESENT: Richard Sherwood, Town Attorney
Supervisor Runion welcomed everyone to the evening’s meeting and asked for a motion accepting the minutes of the February 17, 2009 Town Board meeting
MOTION #53 Councilwoman Slavick moved to ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 17, 2009 TOWN BOARD MEETING. Councilman Pastore seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich |
Abstained |
Councilwoman Slavick |
Aye |
Councilman Pastore |
Aye |
Councilman Grimm |
Aye |
Supervisor Runion |
Aye
|
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: No public comment
AGENDA ITEMS:
MOTION #54 Councilman Redlich moved to APPROVE THE PERMANENT APPOINTMENT OF COLIN GALLUP TO THE POSITION OF PARKS & RECREATION MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR FROM THE ALBANY COUNTY CIVIL SERVICE LIST. Councilwoman Slavick seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich |
Aye |
Councilwoman Slavick |
Aye |
Councilman Pastore |
Aye |
Councilman Grimm |
Aye |
Supervisor Runion |
Aye |
Item # 2 on the agenda concerned authorizing the Supervisor to jointly apply with the City of Watervliet for a grant pursuant to the Local Government Efficiency Program to fund a study for a water treatment system, which would be co-owned by the Town of Guilderland and the City of Watervliet
Supervisor Runion explained that the Government Efficiency Program is being looked at through the Governor’s Office to try to create efficiencies and inter - municipal cooperation amongst various municipalities within the State.
The Town of Guilderland has applied for two such grants.
This is an additional grant to look at the efficiency of a water treatment plant.
The study would also look at any type of legal requirements that would be necessary.
Potential locations would be in and around the Watervliet reservoir.
MOTION #55 Councilman Redlich moved to AUTHORIZE THE SUPERVISOR TO JOINTLY APPLY WITH THE CITY OF WATERVLIET FOR A GRANT PURSUANT TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY PROGRAM TO FUND A STUDY FOR A WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM CO-OWNED BY THE TOWN OF GUILDERLAND AND THE CITY OF WATERVLIET. Councilwoman Slavick seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich |
Aye |
Councilwoman Slavick |
Aye |
Councilman Pastore |
Aye |
Councilman Grimm |
Aye |
Supervisor Runion |
Aye |
MOTION #56 Councilman Redlich moved to AUTHORIZE THE REMAINING ESCROW HELD BY THE TOWN IN REGARD TO WALGREENS AT ROUTE 155 AND ROUTE 20 AND RITE AID AT 2O25 WESTERN AVE. TO BE RETURNED TO THE DEVELOPER. Councilman Pastore seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich |
Aye |
Councilwoman Slavick |
Aye |
Councilman Pastore |
Aye |
Councilman Grimm |
Aye |
Supervisor Runion |
Aye |
MOTION #57 Councilwoman Slavick moved to AUTHORIZE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO GO OUT TO BID FOR THE SALE OF SURPLUS VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT. Councilman Redlich seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich |
Aye |
Councilwoman Slavick |
Aye |
Councilman Pastore |
Aye |
Councilman Grimm |
Aye |
Supervisor Runion |
Aye |
Item #5 on the agenda concerned adopting a home rule message and authorizing the Supervisor to apply to the New York State Legislature for legislation authorizing the establishment of a third judge in the Guilderland Town Court.
Supervisor Runion gave some background stating, “Several years ago a number of articles had been printed in the New York Times concerning the New York State Court System. At one point in time the local courts, the Justice Courts, were considered to be like the stepchildren of the Court system.
With the passing of time, the Office of Court Administration has realized that there are a tremendous volume of cases that are being handled within the Justice Court system and also that the types of cases that are being handled by local judges are extremely complex.
Guilderland, about, probably a year ago, was visited and surveyed through a review by the Office of Court Administration, and the level of service that the Court provides. Statistical information was established as a result of those reviews.
We have a letter from Judge Ceresia, who is the Third District Administrative Judge, and he gives some statistical information about the Guilderland Court and talks about the Guilderland Court and the fact that it is basically operating more on the District Court levels, which are the Courts you see generally on the Long Island area. (P 90A)
In fact, I think his review of the statistics reveals that last year our Justice Court handled
11,345 cases and the Court ranked third in Albany County for the number of criminal cases filed, which was behind only the Town of Colonie and Albany City Court. The Town of Colonie has three judges and the Albany City Court has five judges, which are full time.
Another indicator of the amount of business that the Court has handled is the amount of revenue that our Justice Court has provided. The Town of Guilderland ranks 45th out of 1,250 Justice Courts in the State of New York and in 2007 the total receipts from the Guilderland Justice Courts was $851,256.65. We share the receipts with the State of New York, so of that amount, the State of New York received $352,385.00, the Court received $80,938.55 and the Town received $417,933.10. Our total receipts for the Court increased by $136,257.10 between the year 2006 and the year 2007.
In looking at the Court calendar, our Court operates on Monday evenings, and on Monday evenings the Court handles principally traffic tickets and some civil matters such as evictions and possibly small claims proceedings. In a typical Monday night court calendar the Judge handles 200 cases.
Thursday night is criminal night. Typically on a Thursday evening the Judge handles between 160 to 200 cases.
Many of the cases are the result of the fact that we do have the largest regional mall in the Capital District, which generates a number of criminal cases that are part of the Court system on Thursday evenings.
I met personally with Judge Ceresia and his clerk, David Dellahunt, and he discussed with me the fact that the court system is extremely busy and he felt that the Town really had to look at one of two options. One was to add a third judge, similar to what Colonie has done, the other alternative would be to designate one of the existing part time judges to be a full time justice.”
Councilman Redlich said, “Just one comment on Judge Ceresia’s letter, he mentions that Watervliet employs two part time City Court Judges. Actually, those judges are employed by the State of New York. City Court judges are employed and paid by the State. Town Court and Village Court judges are employed by the Towns and Villages and paid by the Towns and villages.
I looked at Judge Ceresia’s letter, I practiced in front of Judge Ceresia, and he is a wonderful Judge. I also looked at the numbers; I handed out some of these to Ms. Slavick and Mr. Pastore, the top 60 courts and what is notable to me is Bethlehem, Rotterdam and Clifton Park, we’re number 45 on the list of courts in terms of revenue. Bethlehem is number 33, Rotterdam is number 35, Clifton Park is number 36. All three courts have over a million dollars of revenue where we have $850,000 or so. All three courts have two judges and all three courts have their problems. Rotterdam in particular, the major problem is the facility that they are located in is so small that people are standing in the stairwell waiting to get in.
My concern about, I have a bunch of concerns about the idea of adding a third judge.
When I see the fact the Bethlehem, Rotterdam, and Clifton Park are able to manage with two part time judges, and I’m pretty sure in Rotterdam they make less money than our judges, I think that we ought to be able to find a way to make our court operate more efficiently to reduce the burden.”
He further stated that a lot of people did not realize that they could negotiate their tickets by mail with the prosecutor, or to have pre-trial conferences where the judge might not even be there and the officer doesn’t have to be there. What this does is, it allows cases to be resolved with less work for the whole court staff, less time in court and one of the other benefits of both of these things is that they reduce police overtime.
Another efficiency is to schedule people at different times.
He said, “One of the questions we can also ask is, is there anything we can do in terms of how our police use their discretion to write tickets”? A good example is if somebody blows a .05 on a DWAI, the law in the Sate of New York, is if you blow a .05, a lot of people think .05, .06 and .07 is DWAI. Actually, if you read the law a .05 is evidence that you are not impaired. Those cases, when I get those cases and I go into to court, those cases routinely get thrown out.
Could we, as a policy measure, instruct our police officers, if you get a .05, unless you have something else going on, don’t write the DWAI, because those cases, unlike a traffic ticket, which typically gets resolved pretty quickly, a DWAI tends to put more burden on the court?”
Supervisor Runion said, “I think that the issuance of the tickets is up to the discretion of the police officer. There are two types of DWI. The breathalyser, of course, is evidence of intoxication but also there is common law DWI based on how the person responds to sobriety tests issued by the police officer. I, personally, would not want to take away any discretion in the police officer for issuing tickets. I don’t think that the Town Board should be interfering in the judicial system, anyway. We usually have a hands off approach. It has been the policy of the Town Board for years to have hands off approach on the judicial system or the operation for the issuance of tickets.”
Discussion was held regarding salary, benefits and staffing for the third judge.
Relative to the statistical analysis regarding revenue, Supervisor Runion stated that the judges have discretion in the amount that they fine. What it may be an indication of is that in the Guilderland Justice Court our Judges do not fine as heavily as they may fine in other municipalities.
Town Attorney, Richard Sherwood stated that certain fines go to the State and some of it stays here.
Supervisor Runion explained why some of the fines are distributed as they are.
Councilman Redlich asked why Court revenue is fluctuating so much.
Supervisor Runion reiterated that it was at the discretion of the Judges.
Councilman Redlich stated that the State Comptroller is advocating the consolidation of courts such as Village and Town Courts. He asked if there were any grant opportunities for something like this?
Councilman Grimm questioned the fact that the only additional expense would be the judge.
Further discussion was held regarding budget and the processing of cases for the new position.
Supervisor Runion explained that the court would be hearing the same number of cases but that this recommendation was to spread the cases among three judges. This is what Judge Ceresia is advising the Town to do. With the third judge and this more efficient process of cases, revenue would increase due to lack of backlog.
He further stated the Judge Ceresia came to the Town and felt that the Town needed to add a third judge. Supervisor Runion stated that he agreed with his decision.
Councilman Redlich asked about statistics regarding cases heard in Town Court.
Town Attorney, Richard Sherwood explained the number of cases that were handled in Court and the types of cases that were heard.
Supervisor Runion stated that because the complexity of cases, and the number of the cases, particularly the criminal cases that the Court was handling on Thursday night, had increased to such a point the Third Judicial District Administrative Judge felt that the Town should have a third judge to handle those cases. As the cases become more complex, they require more time to dispense.
Councilman Redlich stated that rather than spending for a new judge, the Town should look to ways for better efficiency in the Court.
Councilman Pastore asked why additional staff would be necessary if, instead of having two judges covering five nights of court, you have three judges covering five nights of court?
Supervisor Runion explained the method of dividing up cases among three judges with a daytime session, and the benefits. He also explained there would be the same number of cases, the same number of paperwork split three ways and that the same number of staff would handle the cases. You would be able to run more cases through the town having a daytime session
He also stated that the Town Board needed to give the recommendation of the Third Judicial Administrative Judge a great deal of weight.
Judge Ceresia felt that our two judges appear to be handling an extremely heavy, complex caseload and that the Town sometimes needed to spend money in order to provide better service.
Councilman Redlich described the staffing in Court.
Councilman Grimm said that the numbers were clear regarding the Court and the courts of neighboring towns. Guilderland Court does not warrant a third judge.
Councilwoman Slavick asked if the same request was being made of those neighboring town courts.
Councilman Pastore stated that the agenda item was only to take the recommendation of Judge Ceresia to apply to the legislature for a position of a third judge and not to appoint a third judge.
There was also a discussion regarding consolidation with the services with the Village of Altamont.
The Village has1/20th the number of cases as does Guilderland’s Court and they have two judges.
He felt that the Town Board should make the request and apply. It may be denied.
Councilwoman Slavick stated that it was only petitioning the legislature for a third judge.
Councilman Grimm stated that if we get approval from the legislature it would happen.
Councilman Redlich asked if we should get a better review of numbers before the decision was made.
Councilman Pastore stated the Board should take that into consideration but that in the course of their duties as Town Board members, they owed it to the residents to have an all encompassing view on issues that come before this Town Board. He stated that he would have to defer to, and that they all should defer to, individuals who have conducted studies on issues. He further stated that he did not have the information that Judge Ceresia had, as the Third District Administrative Judge, in not only coming to the Court and reviewing the goings on in the Court, but also all of the facts that he is citing. He stated that he felt that the Judge was recommending to the Town Board to at least consider the need for a third judge
Councilman Redlich stated that the State would not be paying for a third judge, the Town would.
Councilman Pastore remarked that Judge Ceresia’s letter was fully cognisant of the financial times and further stated that the courts were operating at a profit, which would not necessarily create a burden on the Town. He stated that he was at least willing to give it an opportunity.
Councilman Redlich asked for more evidence and to speak with court staff and Police Department. He asked if there was anything the Town Board could do to create better efficiency. He requested that the item be tabled.
Councilman Grimm stated that he had asked for representatives of the Court and the Police Department to be present at the meeting in order to answer questions involving the proposal for a third town judge.
He further stated that he respected what Judge Ceresia had to say but that his judgement was based on fiscal realities and that this was not the time to be expanding government and to hire a third judge.
He said that he had e-mailed Supervisor Runion with this request.
Supervisor Runion replied that he may not have received the e-mail because he was not accepting their e-mails due to the fact that Councilman Grimm and Councilman Redlich had taken his identity and used it as a website and his concern that they may attempt to put a virus on his computer or to obtain his personal information.
He further stated that Councilmen Grimm and Redlich could contact him via the telephone, by mail or by coming to the Town Hall and meeting with him personally.
Further discussion was held regarding the matter.
Councilman Pastore stated that the item on the agenda did not authorize the Town Board to hire a third judgeship but to send a request to the legislature for that third judgeship.
He felt that the economic issue was a valid point but that it had to be balanced in measure with a very legitimate concern about the public safety of out Town.
It was Judge Ceresia’s job to review and to make determinations and to offer suggestions based upon caseload and revenue that we should consider. Perhaps more justice could be dispensed with in a more efficient manner if the Court had a third judge. This could help to minimize the amount of overtime that the Town would have to pay as the Supervisor indicated.
Discussion was held regarding the question of sessions and staffing for the third judge.
Councilwoman Slavick stated that it was the same number of cases.
Councilman Pastore stated that Judge Ceresia was not only commenting on the revenue generated but on the number of cases and the complexity of cases that the Town Justices were handling. He further stated that he was willing to give this conclusion the benefit of the doubt.
Councilman Redlich asked if Councilman Pastore wanted to know the answer to the questions being asked. He questioned if this was a good idea regarding the economy of the time.
Further discussion was held regarding Judge Ceresia’s conclusions.
Supervisor Runion stated that difficult economic times could create more cases in the Judicial Courts. Our Judges may get even busier.
He further stated that it was not his recommendation but the recommendation of the Third District Administrative Judge, who has a lot of experience with Courts at the State and Local level and it was his opinion that we need a third judge.
He stated that he would not dismiss it purely on an economic argument.
Supervisor Runion stated that if the legislature authorized that we establish a third judicial position, the Town of Guilderland would proceed with a public hearing and the adoption of a local law.
Councilman Redlich said, “ My conversations with Judge Bailey, and this is something I have heard from Judge Crummie and I have heard it from a number of other Judges in Albany County, is one of the things that people should know is, driving the burden on our Courts is the District Attorney’s DWI policy, plea bargaining policy, and so they have a lot more hearings.”
Supervisor Runion said, “But there isn’t anything that the Town Board can do about the DA’s policies. That is between the District Attorney and the Court system.”
Councilman Redlich said, “No, that’s not completely true. No, that’s not true. You said before that you wouldn’t do what I suggested, which is that we could have our Police Department adopt policies like, not writing DWAI tickets on .05’s or let’s say it was a .22 or a .20 and above where the DA has a policy on this, that they could not write the Aggravated DWI and write it as a Common-Law DWI and that would mean we might have a lot less hearings. These are things we could do.”
Councilman Pastore asked, “ Are you saying we have the province to do that?
Councilman Redlich said, “Absolutely.” Absolutely, we do.”
Supervisor Runion stated that he disagreed.
Councilman Pastore said, “I think that’s a slippery slope. We are going to legislate how our Police Officers, under what circumstances they are issuing tickets?”
Councilman Redlich said, “Absolutely. We absolutely can, and we absolutely should.”
Supervisor Runion said, “ I don’t think that we can and I don’t think that we should so I guess that we are really going to disagree on that one.”
Councilman Redlich stated that they did disagree.
Councilman Grimm and Councilwoman Slavick asked that they vote on the issue.
Further discussion was held regarding the issue to be voted on.
MOTION #58 Councilman Pastore moved THAT THE ISSUE OF ADOPTING A HOME RULE MESSAGE AND AUTHORIZING THE SUPERVISOR TO APPLY TO THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE FOR LEGISLATION AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISMENT OF A THIRD JUDGE IN THE GUILDERLAND TOWN COURT BE TABLED TO THE NEXT TOWN BOARD MEETING TO PROVIDE FOR ADDITIONAL TIME TO CONSIDER THE REQUEST MADE BY COUNCILMAN REDLICH TO MARSHAL MORE FACTS ABOUT WHETHER THIS IS WARRANTED. Councilman Redlich seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilwoman Slavick asked where the facts would be coming from.
Councilman Redlich stated that he would do the fact-finding and suggested that the rest of the Board do the same.
Supervisor Runion stated that he would give more weight to what Judge Ceresia is saying in his letter than Councilman Redlich’s interpretation of the facts.
Councilman Redlich |
Aye |
Councilwoman Slavick |
Opposed – She said” I have said it already. We have a letter here from Judge Ceresia who is the Third District Administrative Judge. He had been personally here meeting with the Supervisor; he has outlined all of the facts here and he has asked that we petition the Legislature for a third judge. I am going to defer to his opinion on that.” |
Councilman Pastore |
Aye- He said, “I often defer to the individuals who, I believe, are more expert than am I in these types of issues. I still don’t see the detriment to the Town if we authorize the Supervisor to make this application to the Legislature. However, I give the opportunity to Mr. Redlich because he requested it, to marshal more facts, because I don’t want there to be a presumption that this Board is not considering any economic pitfalls in appointing a third Judge.” |
Councilman Grimm |
Aye |
Supervisor Runion |
Opposed - He said, “We have Judge George Ceresia, who is the Third District Administrative Judge, who has reviewed the Guilderland Justice Court, has provided us statistical information on the efficiency of our Justice Court, has indicated to us through correspondence, that each of our Judges is handling in excess of 5,500 cases each on an annual basis. He has also indicated that the volume and the complexity of the matters of the cases being handled in the Guilderland Justice Court may ultimately lead to a less than effective and efficient delivery of justice to those appearing before the Court.
Judge Ceresia is not only a learned State Supreme Court Judge, but prior to his career as a State Supreme Court Judge was a local Town Justice. He has much more experience in these matters than I do or that I probably ever will have. I believe that his opinion is entitled to great weight as a Jurist and as someone who is involved with the Office of Court Administration and therefore I am going to vote against the motion. |
MOTION #59 Councilman Redlich moved to ADJOURN THE MARCH 3, 2009 TOWN BOARD MEETING AT 9:14 PM. Councilman Pastore seconded the motion and it was carried by the following roll call vote:
Councilman Redlich |
Aye |
Councilwoman Slavick |
Aye |
Councilman Pastore |
Aye |
Councilman Grimm |
Aye |
Supervisor Runion |
Aye |
Respectfully submitted,
Rosemary Centi, RMC
Guilderland Town Clerk
| 
