To other issues- have you all read about our friend Mr. Brodsky in today's THR? Appears he continues to snub his nose at the environment when it comes to his developments. Whether you're for or against development has nothing to do with this issue- it's our duty to make sure that it's done RIGHT. Where is Mr. Thomasberger and the code enforcement officer. hell, where is Mr. Burke and Mr. Serra- weren't they the two that policed that development before Burke got elected? If Mr. Caruso wants to make himself look good, why isn't he getting Mr. Larkin involved? Let's not pick and choose here guys- the environment should be our #1 priority as it effects us ALL- whether Democrat, Republican, male, female, black, white, young or old- we all have a vested interest. Maybe the elected officials of both the Town and the Village should read some of the comments after the article. I'll do you a favor and list them here...
March 30, 2007 08:05 AM As a contractor familiar with this developer it's all about the dollar. From what I remember he had a environmental firm over seeing the plant, unfortunatly this guy does not like to pay his bills.
March 30, 2007 07:43 AM Brodsky should call a water treatment company thee is heavily specialized in water management like the Nalco Company to solve water issues. The lowest cost is not always the best.
March 30, 2007 06:30 AM Doesn't Woodbury have an enforcement officer? Were they watching while the building was going on? Did the people who moved in report these things to the town? If so, what was done?
Seems to me these people make some good points. I think we need to keep closer eyes on Woodbury Junction and Legacy Ridge. When these developments are/were approved, why can't there be an inspector hired by the planning board to oversee these projects on a daily basis. Their fees should then be billed back to the developer. Development is inevitable- making sure it's done properly and to code is the municipality's responsibility!!!
I am in total agreement with you sir/madam. Don't know if this is done now but when an EIS (Environment Impact Statement) is done, one of the documents that should be included is a list of past developments accomplished say over the last ten years. The list should include the year, the town/city/village it was in, and a municipal point of contact which could be called to get their assessment of said developer. If "that board" did that, they may have decided differently despite all the carrots the Carteret Group placed in front of them (and has yet to deliver on)
In fairness to any developer who embarks on a major subdivision, say more than 10 homes, I'm sure none of them are perfect 100% of the time. However, when they stand to reap huge profits, they should pay extra special attention to the environment and the promises that they make and agree to in writing per their planning and zoning board approvals. The only way to hold them to that is for detailed check lists to be drawn up for every phase of the project, and the municipal code enforcement officers and building inspector should have to sign off of each item BEFORE the project moves forward. Alot of work? OF COURSE IT IS- but if the developer wants to make the profit, then the municipality should develop some kind of fee schedule that would include extra man/woman power to be paid to oversee the checklists. That way, the developer would have to put those funds plus another 50% into escrow with the town/village up front. If the checklist doesn't get done, the developer doesn't move forward, BUT the inspectors would get paid, and the additional 50% would be held until such time that the project is finished. Almost like a performance bond, but instead the municipality would get that lovely thing known as CASH!!! If Brodsky had been held to something like this and was waiting on getting $100,000+ back, don't you think every "i" would have been dotted and every "t" would have been crossed 3 times?? Just a thought.
On another note. The New Village taxes are up to $3,000,000.00, as of today. What will they end up being by June? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Boy thats alot more than Ralph promised. I bet he'll say "I would have kept them lower". These costs are only the basic that the Village needs. Thank you to all the YES voters out there
3 million is not 3 million NEW dollars, it takes into account the water department, planning, zoning, building etc., which gets moved from Town to Village control, so it is not another 3 million, it is being moved from one government to another. the question everyone should be asking is how much is the Town Board going to give back out of the salaries now that they have a hell of alot less to do.
What a interesting comment about the town board. I am a town employee and I see them working more hours than ever having to figure out all the crap the village has been laying on them. Oh another thing... heard about that bully Gianzero! Yeah she just goes around threatning and bullying everyone! It's sad when a person like her comes under attack.She has worked hard her years on the board and has more experience than anybody else on the board. She is the go to person if you want it done. WE as town employees know and respect that. The village board who accuses her of this wanted to take their tax increase of about 340,000 and hide it in the towns budget by collecting all the sales tax revenue making their budget increase next to zero, but the problem with this is the town would have to increase their budget by about that amount (to cover the loss to their police dept) so the town would have to bear the responsibility of the villages budget. Not only is that morally not right it is also cowardly on the villages part. I guess Gianzero put a wrench in their plan by explaining to our Mayor that the police dept will lose 340,000 in revenues and she supposedly didn't feel that the town should have to raise their taxes to make up for the loss.
At the Village budget meeting Berean-Weeks twisted the story and implied that a Board member threatened her by saying the police would suffer(Berean-Weeks is married to one of our Police Sargents). Crouse demanded that a letter be written to Supervisor complaining about this board member. What are they crazy?!?!? Or just sneaky? The way I see it the Village needs to take responsibilty for their budget and not try to push it off to the town board.
I also feel that the Village Boards budget isn't that bad, so what are they afraid of? The people who voted for this stupid Village will get what they asked for. More taxes and no extra protection from annexation.
We all knew it would come down to this...which board wants to exert more power. Isn't that what it ALWAYS comes down to? Who has the power??? If we think this is bad, just imagine the nightmare if the King of Power himself had gotten in there...ah yes, Ralphie boy. Thank God for small favors!!
What EVERYONE, from Town employees to taxpayers need to realize is that this is new territory- having our Village overlay our town's footprint. There are many issues that will need to be worked out and compromises will need to be made. Will everyone be happy? NO, that's an impossibility- but NO ONE has the right to say it's their way or else. The Village board seems to have accepted their role, for the time being, as the students that need to be educated, and in that, they are trying their best to understand the law while at the same time balancing that with what is best for the residents. Rome wasn't built overnight, and neither will this Village be. Hopefully, the stronger, more tenured Town board members will understand and respect this, and not use bullying tactics, IF indeed that is what has happened.
And just a point of clarification, the Senior member on the current Town Board with the most experience is NOT Geri, but IS Lorraine.
If we are going to start lets get some facts right! Berean-Weeks has no clue of what going after Gerri will do to her, she can kiss good bye the people of Woodbury backing her ever again. Gerri helped her go from house wife to mayor and she does this. Has anyone asked why she is asking for more money? Give me a break ....
From what I can see of these meetings, it looks like Desiree is trying to run the whole show as Town and Village Clerk. Better be careful, and remember that old saying about putting all your eggs in one basket. Good government needs checks and balances, not one person having a say in everything! I'd be careful of giving her too much power if I were you people.
Oh ya, it was Geri, and ONLY Geri who got Stephanie elected. Give me a break! The COMMUNITY PARTY is who got her elected, who did research and who gave Geri her info on the sales tax. Geri had nothing to do with researching and uncovering the flaws in Ralph's so called "kit". Ya, she attended some meetings, but then took information and ran with it. Geri, Mike Q and Lorraine may have backed Stephanie publicly, but Stephanie did alot of the walking, studying, researching, etc on her own and with the help of her party and running mates. Again, don't glorify one single person, when it took a community to elect the mayor!!
Anyone who has really watched Geri in action behind the scenes know that she took a lesson from Ralph's book of bullying when it comes to getting what she wants in politics. Those "in the know" have witnessed her in action, especially when her pal Holly was on the board. Those two had the sharpest tongues in town, and the poison pens to go along with them. Don't be fooled by her demeanor in front of the camera...she can be just as evil as the rest of them.
Why does it always come down to Cliff protecting his wife. How many people voted for Stephanie???Are you saying not one other person can stand up and tell the truth. Please- for the record, I am not Cliff, and frankly, don't really care for the guy.
Oh come now Cliff, that was a very transparent comment. Stephanie (Little Miss Muffet) is going to need all the help she can get after attacking Gerri. Miss Muffet has no following, unlike Gerri. I think its a shame that once she got a little power (and along with her oversized ego) she attacks the very people that got her there.
If Little Miss Muffet can't understand what was being said to her, (which was a fact not a threat) what else will she misunderstand. Its a scary thought.
Think what you will, but I am not Cliff. And talk about over-sized egos, well that's laughable. If Geri doesn't trump Stepahine by at least a mile, then no one does! Let's see, who could YOU be? I've got a pretty good idea, and with that, will warn you that you better keep defending Geri with your last breath, because she does wield a mighty big sword and will cut you at the knees if you go against her. But know that she too has her skeletons, and isn't quite as "nice" or "generous" as you seem to believe. More like a "snake in the grass", so you would do yourself well to tread lightly. Now, since you seem to know so very much about Cliff, do you really think he could write like this? Again, if your answer is yes, then you probably ARE the person I have in mind!
It's sad that it has come to this! The Town and Village Board was supposed to work together for the good of the community. I know the people involved and I think this is just a few individuals stirring the pot!
I'm not THREATENING anyone- I'm offering words of advice. Having dealt with her before, I know how she can turn very easily- so there was no threat, just advising to proceed with caution. Like dealing with black ice- you don't know how dangerous it is until you're right there upon it.
Sad is a good estimation of what's happening. Someone IS stirring the pot by leaking bits and pieces of things they don't like or don't agree with, and giving half truths, or taking things out of context, and posting it here as TRUTH or FACT. Hopefully members of both boards will let it roll of their shoulders, and continue to work TOGETHER for all of us.
It may not be the number, but the who & why. They know, and so does she. Whether at the orders of Ralph, or the comaraderie of Holly or by her own will, she has wrongfully gone after people at times, and it may or may not catch up to her. All I am saying is that she is not some sterling saint who is sole responsible for putting Stepahnie in office, nor is she so well-liked by the voters that she is untouchable...remember that she only beat Darlene, (a relative newcomer and somewhat extremist) by 190 votes. IF she is making threats, and bullying as she has been known to do in the past, those who think she's so wonderful should take notice. Is that such a hard concept to understand?
See- you all ARE stupid, as I said in a different thread.
Gerri did this... Little Miss... the board did...
The disrespect and the comments based on very little information just illustrates the level of maturity and the level of intelligence of you Woodbury residents. And you ought to be ASHAMED of yourselves!!!!
For those of you with some level of decency: Real estate is still cheap in the Carolinas, come on down!!!
Harry how are you doing .... good to see you getting on the dumb Woodbury blog site ........ to bad you moved , you would have loved the current local bashing of all the characters in town .... ...........JK
it is really too bad that Stephanie weaks double crossed gerri.Stephanie implied to her village board that gerri was strong arming them by insinuating possible cutbacks. what is even more sad is that cliff weaks is running both the police department and the village board. it seems when we elected the village board, we really elected their spouses. at least the town board stands on its own two feet and the people we elected are the people who run the board. gerri has done the most to be fairminded when it comes to the concerns of the employees. she has been a member of the police negotiating committee for years. I wonder what would the police dept's life be like with the likes of john burke or mike queenan being on that committee. its a shame when people bite off the hand that feeds them. another ridiculous notion is doubling all the village employees salaries. If I am not mistaken, Desiree-the town/village clerk probably makes more money than anyone else in town. and let's not forget stephanie, she needs her salary raised. after all she puts in so much time on village business - with having to stay up all night with her husband, cliff weaks, to write down all his instructions for the village. what a joke, how do they justify increasing all these salaries. oh, i forgot, they will just give their spouses great big raises. this way, the tax burden won't impact them.
I've tried to determine what is actually happening, and as I understand it the facts aren't nearly as much fun as the rumors.
1. Under State law the Village has first call on sales tax money coming from the County to Woodbury. 2. The Town and the Village boards are working to divide up the money based on budgetary needs. 3. The Town has certain large obligations that it has to meet. Paying for the police department is one of the biggest (perhaps the single biggest). 4. The Village Board understands this need and has no problem seeing to it that the Town receives the funds to meet those obligations. 5. After all the Town obligations are met, the remaining income must go to meet the Villages obligations (insurance being one of the largest). 6. If there are insufficient funds left, the Village will have to levy taxes to meet the difference (which is why we have said all along that forming a village will add to our taxes).
These are all facts. Whether or not anyone felt that somewhere along the way these facts were not presented sweetly or diplomatically or whatever no one involved has any doubt that both boards recognize the reality of the situation and both want to do all that is possible to keep taxes down, meet all needed obligations and work together for the good of the people of Woodbury.
And that's the bottom line.
The oddest part of the posts that I have read is the idea that there is some sort of showdown between Gerri and Stephanie. I have watched the two of them work together and there is no hint of friction. They make a terrific team one from the Town, one from the Village and both doing all that they can to get it right for Woodbury.
But someone (or some group) finds it useful to invent a war between them that doesn't exist. I suggest that anyone interested in the reality of the situation ought to watch or attend the Town and Village board meetings. First hand knowledge is a wonderful cure for misinformation.
Isn't friction always part of the formula? That's how the people that work behind the scenes get the upper hand. Whoever can make their "story" more believable gets to sway the voters. Afterall, isn't that how we ended up with a Village?? As far as both boards working well together, I'm not 100% sold, but I do believe that they are trying. As far as salaries, as the shift of departments happens, and the Village board has to do more work, naturally they would expect to be paid for it. On the flip side of that, if the responsibilities of the Town board lessen, then their salaries should decrease in ratio. Since the number and positions on each board are equal, then the salaries that increase on one side should be taken from their counterpart on the other side. If their duties are equal, then take the present salaries of all, add them up and divide them by two so that the Supervisor & Mayor are making the same amount, and ditto for the councilpeople and the trustees. Does the Village board get health insurance like the Town Board?
The town board still has the major departments. The Police, Highway,Parks,Courts, Building & Grounds,Library, etc. I watch the meetings, they are still are doing 90% of the work. It justifies their salaries.
The village only has the Water-Sewer and the Building Dept. Why would it be a 50-50 split? The town council people only make 7,000 or 8,000 dollars a year. The Supervisor only makes 50,000-60,000 a year. Give me a break!
I do not feel that what the new mayor is asking in salary is unreasonable. I believe the only way to get good people to run our town/village is to pay them what they deserve.
I also feel what we pay the town board members is fine. Why are we attacking their salaries and benefits?
What axe do you have to grind with the town board.
I wish people like you would stop picking on the elected officials who are grossly underpayed as it is.
The way I see it is the village board is getting bad advice, from a husband which in my mind is a conflict of interest, a power hungry clerk looking to make money, some employees, and a few who do not like the town board and Supervisor. The people of Woodbury are greeting screwed by the Village and will have to pay through the nose because of higher taxes. When we see their budget I have heard from a few the Mayor salary is higher then the $2,500 she gets now and the clerk is over $25, 000! Why is it that some trustees will take no salary and others are asking for triple, what a mess and bad leadership? I heard they have over $100,000 for attorney’s fess that’s higher then the Town has now? I just hope behind their closed door meeting it’s not a few town employees and elected officials seeing what’s best for them not what is in the best interest or the Village? I am asking the Town Board please look after the people of Woodbury because after listening to this the Village is not.
Dear Ralphling, So, attorney's fees are going to be high? What a surprise. Oh wait, now I remeember, when you folks were pushing us to form a village, weren't the rest of us screaming that it would be expensive and that attorney fees would be huge? As to the Village Board getting bad advice, again and again posters here have asked for specific complaints and you haven't posted any (unless you count the trustees' decision that the mayor should get more than $2,500 a year, Heaven forfend!). Higher taxes? Yeah, we warned everyone all about that too. And you folks lied and lied, giving us all blatently phony tax projections. So, Dear Ralphling, go take a flying leap.
Any conflict between any members of either board is pure fiction. You people need to get a life and do something to make this world better. Talk is cheap. Get out there and do domething productive instead of perpetuating lies. Yes, the Village budget is here, but it is not written in stone. Why not show up at the Village meetings and talk to the people directly? Most of the budget was already part of the Town budget. It is just being shifted over to the Village. Therefore, your town taxes will be deminished to reflect this move. Not all of the trustees are taking a salary. They have full time jobs with benefits. Would you be willing to donate your time? I think not! All the Village board members excersized their right to vote with only one of them voting in favor of the Village formation. It was these individuals that questioned the lies put forth by the other candidates who would most certainly have crushed Woodbury. Everyone in this town/village is aware that we would incur another layer of government. The trick is NOT to duplicate services like our neighboring communities and to work together to build a strong relationship with both boards. I challange anyone who has posted here to bring forth only pure evidence that any member of either board has not acted on behalf of the best interest of the public.
To the poster @ 10:10 am who stated that the elected officials are "grossly underpaid", and stated that I have an axe to grind- perhaps you should reread my post. I stated that IF the duties were EQUAL, then they should be paid EQUALLY. Sounds like you're a little overzealous in your defense- could you in fact be a Town board member or a Town employee unhappy with what you're making? Perhaps that is why you simply skipped the huge word IF!!!
And to the next poster at 10:22- PROVE your statement that the Village board is taking and acting upon advice from anyone other than themselves and their attorney. You act like these five individuals have some kind of manual written in stone for them to follow, and that they are simply not abidding by it.Do you even know the challenges that they are facing in the uniqueness of THIS Village? For example-The fire district debacle is just one area that they are putting hours of research into, and trying to get special legislation...you know, the area that they were RIGHT about and Ralph was so very WRONG about!!! Also, the intermunicipal agreements that must be hammered out- again, hours of research, debate and compromise on the part of the Village & the Town.
You people make me laugh with your erroneous statements of what you perceive to be FACT. Instead of doing your homework, you take what you hear on the street, or the way you think it should be, give it a good twist and then throw it out there for people to believe.
Here's a new idea...why not let those elected officials for the Town and Village continue to do their jobs, and once the budgets and agreements are actually approved, then you can start your moaning, whining and complaining!!
I can assure you I am not a town board member,but a friend to both boards. I question you because you sound like a village board member stating that the two boards should be paid the same amount. They all work hard and get paid a small token according to their work loads. I also feel the mayor should get an increase in salary so that she can get paid for all the work and time she puts in.
To suggest that someone should take a pay decrease is attacking and not very well thought out.
Maybe someday if the Village takes on all the departments or more responsibility than salaries should be adjusted, (Mostly Supervisor and Mayor) because the others already get paid very little.
I am just sick of all the accusations being made on this blog against all the good people who represent us. I would NOT want their job.
I am certainly not a member of any board, just a resident who knows how hard it is to sit in those seats. I've seen good people in those seats absolutely destroyed by big-mouthed idiots who seem to think they can do a better job, and yet never step up to the plate. It's always easy to be the arm chair quarterback, but when it comes down to getting on the field and possibly getting your ass kicked, the know-it-alls hide in the shadows.
Anyway, what it still all boils down to is both boards turning their collective backs on the gossip, innuendo and ignorance of the morons who THINK they run the show. Political aspirations and other agendas need to be dismissed, and they all need to move forward TOGETHER, making sure to keep the best interests of the taxpayers and residents as their #1 goal... afterall, we all live here don't we??
I am the blogger from the Carolinas and I am not HD: Definitely not Henry Dobson (because he doesn't know such big words), not Harley Davidson, not Henry Doles etc.
I loved Woodbury but was glad to retire and get out when I did because Woodbury has turned into something horrible and this blog is evidence of this change for the worse. You are all stupid and, as I have mentioned, I am glad that I am out. I am sad that some of my family is still there and I hope that the humanity and decency that they have is not destroyed by being near all of you mindless, ignorant, selfish people.
The nonsense, the backstabbing, betraying friends; that's all you seem to know.
Or perhaps it's just the nature of blogs in general: they bring out the worst in people.
Ignorant??? Have you moved to a place that is so isolated that politics doesn't exist?? Be real- this type of behavior exists EVERYWHERE, and you are fooling yourself if you think otherwise. Obviously it's doing something for YOU, or you wouldn't keep returning.
yes, ms. carolina, you made sure that nepotism was fully enforced during your tenure. And, if you aren't the pot calling the kettle black. You talked about more employees and spread idle gossip more than anyone going. And lets not forget about your buyout. How nice it is to sit on your porch drinking mint tea and pass comment now. Bottom line is it seems the employees/elected officials had one goal and that was to make sure that whatever happens benefits themselves and their families
Well said, there are many departments that in the past had nepotism. Oh and lets not forget about the highway dept and the last guy they hired, what a mess that was. Please you have left Woodbury now stay out of our blog.
for some of the participants on this blog who don't have a long historical reference they have been talking about Betty Wallace who ran the building dept office.
I am the blogger from the Carolinas, I was never a town employee, I am not Mrs. Wallace and I do not have any family working for the town.
So, without any verification, you stupid people run with the notion of criticizing Mrs. Wallace and town employees.
I return to the blog because my friends here cannot believe what is on the blog. And for those of you who think this is normal, you are wrong! Politics is more civil, the people have more civility in general where I live now. Yes the local politicans disagree, but they simply are not as nasty and ignorant as you.
You are ALL very Stupid. Enjoy your stupid lives. Goodbye.
Ah, those good and kind politicians from the Carolins. Perhaps you are thinking of that racist bastard Strom Thurmond. Or maybe it is Jesse Helms that you so admire, one of the vilest men to grace the Senate this past century. Or maybe it is the soft-spoken Lindsey Graham, who led the impeachment of a President for lying about sex, but wants to pardon Scooter Libby who lied about revealing a covert CIA agent while we were already a nation at war in Afghanistan. Oh, if only we had those wonderful Carolina politicians here. Not!
"Anonymous said... From what I can see of these meetings, it looks like Desiree is trying to run the whole show as Town and Village Clerk. Better be careful, and remember that old saying about putting all your eggs in one basket. Good government needs checks and balances, not one person having a say in everything! I'd be careful of giving her too much power if I were you people."
First - If Desiree wanted to "run the whole show" she could have run for election as Mayor or even Supervisor. She did not.
Also, in my opinion, it make sense to have a common figure in both governments, especially during the transition. Even Ralph said he would have hired Desiree as Village Clerk if he was elected Mayor.
"Anonymous said... Desiree-the town/village clerk probably makes more money than anyone else in town."
Desiree's salary is public information. I have reviewed the Town budget for 2007 and the proposed Village budget for 2007/8 as well as minutes of both entities. Here is what I learned:
Town Salary $49,900 Village Salary $24,000 ($4000 of which is part of Fire District Secretary if that gets dissolved) Fire District $8,100
Now tell me, who in their right mind would be at the beck-in-call of 15 different individuals (5 members per Board) for so little. The Town salary is fine since she has been doing the job for almost 10 years. The Fire District she has been doing since Kathy (Ungerzat) gave it up (2000?) and the Village she was asked to do. Did anyone else come forward and offer to help? I think $20,000 to do all of that work is very little compared to the whole picture.
And, by the way, there are several TOWN ONLY EMPLOYEES that get paid a hell of a lot more money then Desiree does.
FOIL the information and find out. I am not talking about the police either!!!!
I personally think it is disgusting that she is making over 80,000 a year. I can't imagine how she has that much time on her hands to do an effective job. I mean eight hours a day at town hall, plus meetings at nite. Then she must be putting in 20 hours or so for the village.And of course,how much time is she putting in for the fire district. She must be completely exhausted, poor thing. Her poor family must feel completely neglected with her working so hard and all. Or is it possible that while at Town Hall she is doing Village business or Fire Dept. business. It won't be the first time she tried to finagle things. Oh, I didn't see any posting for the Village Clerk position. I must have missed that one. By the way, how much does the Supervisor make? It is pretty sad when his clerk makes more. For what?
You forgot, she also gets a salary for being official recoprds keeper for the Town. And no there was absolutely no posting for the position of Village clerk.
For each employee that is hired at a lesser salary, health benefits, retirement benefits and all else the individual is entitled to still have to be paid...so why not pay only one person who knows what they are doing and save money in the long run?
I don't buy that one. The FD is a volunteer agency. didn't know that they pay for benefits to part timers. If that is the case it might explain our exhorbinant taxes. As Far as the Village, are they in the habit of providing full time benefits for part time employees. Again, that is the case, nice way to doubly rip of the community. I believe the Town Board finally cracked down on abusing the system by making people contribute to health insurance. Nice try to justify your outrageous salaries and ripping off the public. Please think before you speak
I would have to believe that Desiree came to her own defense by posting as anonymous-
IF that is the case, there are several things we, the public should be alarmed by. #1- Add in the health benfits to her already lofty salary, and she is sitting damn pretty for being able to practically roll out of bed to her job. #2- She states, rather matter-of- factly, that Ralph would have made her Village clerk had he won. We, the public as well as EVERY Town and Village Board member and Supervisor and Mayor better be VERY alarmed by that statement.Was Desiree making back room deals with Ralph Caruso? Boy did she have all her bases covered!! That's certainly making a deal with the devil himself!
#3-With regard to being at the BECK AND CALL of 15 people, if it's too hot then she should get out of the damn kitchen! She's the Town/Village Clerk- she's supposed to be at the BECK AND CALL of ALL the people of the Town/Village- and, newsflash, she's getting paid a mighty good salary and has better benefits than 75% of the residents (that WE pay for). If she doesn't like it, quit! There would probably be a line a mile deep to take her job and her benefits!! #4- We should all remember that we may certainly vote her out of office if warranted, and the Village board may reappoint anyone they deem fit (no Des, it's not a lifetime appointment, and sorry to say, you weren't simply entitled to the job.)
Desiree I will not be voting for you in the next election if it is true that if Raplh won you would be the village clerk too. Also I don't you should be both Town and Village clerk. Two Herbs in the Village and Two Herbs in the Town are two much for me.
several employees that get paid more than desiree.. that are not cops? i dont think so.. maybe two or three and they are dept. heads. get the facts straight. A-hole.
I think what we are getting from this post is that Desiree has been ripping off this town for long enough. She has single handedly managed to put herself in all the key positions managing to make the most money. She comes off as this sweet helpful little thing but that is far from reality. She is really quite cunning and manipulative. She has secured employement for herself, her mother, her husband and now wants another family member to work for the town/village. To say that there are others who make more than her is a joke. Yes, there are some department heads who make money but they are PROFESSIONAL TRAINED workers and not a souped up secretary. What she is good at is taking care of her own. If you cross her, she is a mean vindictive b--tch. Just ask anyone who works with her. Her own appointees are afraid to open their mouth for the fear of her. I agree with previous poster. She needs to go. I think that at reelection time, it needs to be brought out how she is ripping off this town. How she tries to secure jobs for her family. How she bends the rules for her own/family gains. How she has her hand and nose in everything. It is about time people started complaining about her. It is time for a change. Get the Herbs out of Woodbury politics.
Desiree will be earning more than the dept. heads. Most of them are earning somewhere in the mid 70's with the exception of the town supervisor and highway super. They both earn much less.
"She has secured employement for herself, her mother, her husband and now wants another family member to work for the town/village." Please there is no truth to that, unless you have some to share.
Her husband used to work for the Highway Deptarment but quit. I heard that before he quit he wanted to sue the Town. They collectively tried to get the Town to cover him for health insurance then wanted teh Town to pay him for not taking the insurance but yet he was still covered under Desiree. Once he quit, he wanted to come back to the Highway Deptartment and Desiree begged everyone to take him back, promising b ack door deals. I think thats when the Town Board passed the law to prevent this. I didn't know her sister works for the Town too. Give me a break!
In fairness, mother Carol was tax collector BEFORE Desiree became Town Clerk. I believe Kathy Unverzagt brought Desiree in as an assistant, and she worked her way up from there(perhaps with Ralph's blessing??). I understand that she did pull some strings to have her husband hired by the Highway department, eventhough he was not properly qualified, and there were other more qualified applicants. So, that is a fair point of contention. He later left/was fired/or something, but is no longer employed by the department and later tried to sue the Town. (That's gratitude for you).
As with many elected positions, once these people get into office, their worth goes to their head, and they get a somewhat inflated ego. Sadly, this appears to have happened to Desiree, and she has positioned herself in a way so that she does all and knows all. Again, making herself invaluable to both the Town and the Village. One could certainly say she has been both opportunistic as well as overly ambitious. I would just like to know how she gets ALL the jobs done for ALL the hats she wears. Sounds like she MUST be using Town time to do Village and Fire District work, or vice versa...something is certainly overlapping. Can't believe the Supervisor would allow her to be doing this, but perhaps he doesn't have a clue???
I agree. It seems another poster also was wondering the same thing. There are so many hours in a day. How is it possible that she can do record keeping, fire department, town clerk and village clerk , volunteer on various committees attend woman of woodbury luncheons and whatever else she has her finger in. It would certainly seem like she would have to be using town time for all these other "jobs".
I believe the Town Supervisor did not want her doing Village work on "Town" time. She responded back by reminding the Supervisor that she was an 'elected official' and he had no jurisdiction telling her how to run HER office. It should be noted that the Village Clerk position is APPOINTED, not elected. There are regular 'Village' hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 3-5PM. What 'work' goes on there is anyone's guess.
So wait, are you saying that as an ELECTED official, she can have and do other jobs at the same time that she is "supposed" to be doing Town work? That sounds like the same thing those cops over in Montgomery or Walden got in trouble for when they were clocking hours at a second job for the SAME time they were getting paid to be a cop. Illegal moonlighting is what it seems to be. And she has the nerve to say she's underpaid??
That just doesn't seem right. Are you saying that John and Pete could have 2nd full time jobs if they wanted to? That's a huge loop-hole that should be remedied. Desiree should have to do Town work at Town Hall, then go to the Village office and do Village work, and then to the fire district and do whatever. Boy is the public getting ripped off on that one. Does she get a certain amount of sick/vacation/personal time too? I should hope not if she's just allowed, as an ELECTED offical to come and go as she pleases....seems like the whole job is one big vacation!
Don't forget, shes also the Village Tresurer. And comes with yet another salary. So shes... Village Clerk 24,000 Village Tresurer 7,000 Official Records keeper ??? Town Clerk 49,900 Fire Secretary 8,100
Let me see if I have this right,four people from one family have worked for the town? The Mother hired her daughter to help with the taxes, was a job ever posted so other people could apply? The town clerks husband was hired in the highway department, again did others apply. Someone posted "They collectively tried to get the Town to cover him for health insurance then wanted teh Town to pay him for not taking the insurance but yet he was still covered under Desiree." That can't be true because what you are saying is he had insurance under her but because he was working for the town now and didn't take the town coverage he would get some payout? So first he gets a job and then we should pay him for something he already has, are you sure this is true, but if it is she should resign. Another poster said she will be the Village Clerk 24,000 Village Tresurer 7,000 Official Records keeper ??? Town Clerk 49,900 Fire Secretary 8,100 if this is true I ask again why are not these jobs offered to other people in Woodbury? Time to call 60 Minutes.
Although I don't believe Potvin's lawsuit went anywhere, it does seem like another loophole in the way the Town is run. For instance, say Geri had health insurance through her husband's job, then she is entitled to get a reimbursement, I believe, at the single's rate for NOT taking the Town's coverage. Don't you remember that big "ta-do" with Henry Dobson, when it was found that he was getting reimbursed at the FAMILY rate, since he had his own insurance, and he got po'ed about it when they wanted him to go to the single rate??? So, if Potvin had covered Desiree under his insurance when he worked for the Town, would Desiree have been entitled to be reimbursed at the single rate? The way the rules are written at this point, it seems like the answer would have been yes. I think the problem is that they tried to do it in the reverse, and I don't think it works that way for non-elected officials. Anyway, if someone would take a good hard look at all the financial loop-holes of the Town, and in the future, the Village as well, I'm sure alot of $$ could be trimmed from the budgets.
I do agree that if not 60 minutes, then possibly the TH-R should take a look at the double-dipping jobs that Desiree now holds. Why aren't these other jobs advertised? And why was she making deals with Village candidates (Mr. Caruso)BEFORE the election?? Again, where are the checks and balances??
To clear up the double dipping on the insurance. I believe the way the handbook was written if you were on the Town's insurance plan, you weren't entitled to a buyout/payout. It didn't specify for individual coverage or policy holder. It stated "covered". Mr. Potvin was "covered". Let's also specify that prior to marrying Mr. potvin, Des had a single policy which cost the town approximately 4,000.00. When she married her husband she took out a family policy (rightfully so-nothing wrong with that) but the cost also doubled for the town close to 8,000.00 a year. So, to then try to bilk the town for a payout is terrible. He was "covered" by the town's insurance. A little side note, when he did get hired, Des created her own form, without Townboard approval and had her husband sign it, which would have in essence entitled him to the buyout. See Des, is always looking out for Des. Oh, by the way, I believe these loopholes have been closed out. Buyouts are not offered anymore and the Town did try to put in effect a nepotism clause.
Again- checks and balances!!! Who is watching Miss Desiree? Do her books get balanced, and if so by whom??? Or, does she oversee her own books too? Does anyone look at her department's phone bills(personal long distance calls), postage (for personal mail & packages), etc? These things may sound trivial, but when we're all working hard to pay our own household bills, and through our taxes pay HER salaries, I think these things SHOULD be scrutinized.
Oh, and one final question, do the full-time elected official positions have to pay anything towards their health insurance if they take it?
The town board a few years back required all new employees/elected officials to contribute if they wanted health insurance. Maybe 10 or 20% of the insurance. If you didn't need the insurance, you didnt take it b ecause you had to contributed like the rest of america for it and you didn't get that glorious buy out anymore. This only applies to the Town Board. You might want to check with the village board to find out what/if anything they are doing with health insurance. They might see it as a free for all to get additional insurance for themselves because as you know it is a new animal and they can do whatever they want. Personaly, I think they shouldnt do it but hey. As it seems, they are all out for themselves. You votged for it.
Now that's a moronic statement...a few of the Village bd members aren't even taking the pittance of a salary allocated!! So, ya, that's right, they certainly seem like they're out for themselves!!! NOT!!
And you may want to check the record, as I thought the newer Town bds tweaked the rules again about employees paying into their health insurance, in fact I think they got rid of that completely, and it's our tax dollars paying 100% for it again!
That was probably prior to the UNION being created. So, do any of the TOWN employees or elected officials (present or future) contribute to their health insurance?? Currently there is no health insurance offered to the Mayor or the Trustees!!
The Village trustee have health insurance through their private jobs. The Mayor is covered under her police officer spouse. Desiree is insured through the town health plan.
New employees absolutly are contributing to the health insurance.. not that it really matters but i thought this blog started out by bashing swiller.. if so we are a little off topic.
All employees hired on or after January 1st 2003 contribute 20% towards their health insurance. Same goes for the town elected officials elected after January 1st 2003. The only new employees not contributing towards their health insurance are the Police and Dispatchers. They are in a different union. It's funny how one of the posters here wants to defend the village board and yet bash the town board. Sounds like a spouse of a certain village board member. Shameful............
Could you Explain what you mean that Des created her own form so that her husband could get the buyout? Is she allowed to write policy for the Town? Is she legally able to do that?
Anonymous said... Could you explain what you mean that Des created her own form so that her husband could get the buyout? Is she allowed to write policy for the Town? Is she legally able to do that? If that statement was TRUE did Town Board know about it and if they did why did they cover it up? There are too many things here; husbands and kids getting jobs, insurance forms, another one wanting a Village Job, town clerk, insurance payouts, village clerk, etc it all sounds like someone has photos of all the town and village board members. What bothers me most is if and I say (IF) the town clerk is allowed to create documents and then the board covers it up. I hope at the next Town Board Meeting someone asked that question and its time send this thread to the Times herald Record to look into this!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Always a coverup or conspiracy! Good lord please take your medication.
Please don't sprain a finger dialing the Times Herald Record number for your breaking story of misconduct on the behalf of the town clerk, town board and whoever else you think might be involved in the headline story you are about to break!
Happy Holiday's to the few that are still sane in Woodbury!
Someone said "A little side note, when he did get hired, Des created her own form, without Townboard approval and had her husband sign it, which would have in essence entitled him to the buyout." If that is true someone needs to ask the Village why they are putting her in charge?
Perhaps BOTH boards need an EXECUTIVE session, minus Miss Desiree, to discuss these items. Unless, of course, Miss Desiree takes charge like she usually does and decides to address the issue herself at the next public meetings!
Desire will bully the Board (again) along with John Burke. Sheila was a push over and afraid of Desiree, (Idon't know why). And I guess Burke is too. Otherwise why would he put up with her "Holier than thou" crap. She does all kinds of work in that Town Hall that have NOTHING to do with the Town. Residents complained to Sheila over and over about how rude Desiree was, and she never did a thing about it. I hope Burke gets a pair.
Even if he did, Desiree would just reiterate that she IS an elected official, and because of that, NO ONE will tell her what to do! I would really hope that she would have some competition for the next election...watch how sweet and humble she'll become then!!
Aren't you giving Miss Desiree a little too much credit? How does she "bully" 5 people? Can't one of them stand up to her? Or, like others have said, has she made herself irreplaceable?
I want to know why the village Board appointed Carol Herb to be Village Tax collector, and will pay her 11,000.00, when no other Village in Orange County has one. Desiree is getting a salary to do this very job! Why is her mother getting paid $11,000.00 to do it. Thats what you were hired for Desiree, remember. If you can't handle the work load, then quit. If you need assistants to do a job that all other Village treasurers do than thats too bad. Her salary for Village Clerk and Treasurer was supposed to be 8,000.00 total. WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT DESIREE? Now we will pay a total of 35,000.00 to the Herbs, for doing a job that every other Village treasurer in the county does. It amazes me how this can happen!
And tell me how in 8 hours Desiree can do two full time jobs without them overlapping. I'm sorry 24,000. is a full time salary for many people. This is a crock of sh**. The Village Board has some explaining to do.
In Desiree's defense, village work is not done on town time. There are evenings and weekends. Many of us have had second jobs. It can be done. I have done it! And NO, I am not a member of the Herb family.
Oh please, Desiree is out and about on the weekends, and NOT doing Village work...so that is a laughable use of her time. She has her hands into so many other things, that we all know she's doing Village work on Town time and getting paid a double salary. Here's a thought. Why not put a time clock in the Village office and pay Desiree only for the time that she is THERE doing her Village work?? Are the files of the Village kept at Village Hall? If not, they should be, and that is where she should be dooing her work...not at Town Hall, not at home, and not where ever she goes gambling or sightseeing.
To the last poster, You obviously dislike Desiree, but I know for a fact that Village records are kept at the Fire House and not at Town Hall and that Desiree has been at her Village Hall desk on many Saturday mornings when the rest of you are probably still asleep. I guess none of you ever balanced your checkbook or made any personal phone calls from your workplaces? Let he who is without guilt cast the first stone!
I have no feelings about her one way or another. But, if the job as Village clerk was posted and advertised to the general population as " Part-time job available, make up your own hours and work when you please for a salary of $8k and soon to increase to $20k plus", I'm sure the line for applicants would have stretched down Rte 32. Doesn't the Village have designated hours of operation? Why shouldn't those be the hours that she is there? Do those hours conflict with the hours she's supposed to be at Town Hall? How many people that hold down two jobs are doing them simultaneously? And, if she is doing them simultaneously, then logic dictates that she most likely has Village stuff at Town Hall or the other way around.
Also, in an earlier posting someone brought up benefits. Since she gets benefits from the Twon, is she entitled to be "paid back" for benefits that she isn't taking from the Village?
Desiree's town and village hours do not overlap as much as you are trying to imply. You sound like you have been watching her every move. Are you stalking her?
You sound like there is only one person that has a concern. After reading all the postings, it sounds like there is a lot of insider information. Maybe it's those close to her that know the truth and are tired of it.
Only a handful of insiders know about this site, and if you believe that every comment is from a different person in the know, I have a bridge to sell you!
wow, you people need to get a life!blah, blah, blah, blah, is that the village/town officals talking or is it Charlie Browns teacher on the phone! idiots!
117 comments:
Can someone explain to me why we still have a town board when the village makes all the laws?
Obviously you need to start attending some meetings and realize that your statement is TOTALLY incorrect.
To other issues- have you all read about our friend Mr. Brodsky in today's THR? Appears he continues to snub his nose at the environment when it comes to his developments. Whether you're for or against development has nothing to do with this issue- it's our duty to make sure that it's done RIGHT. Where is Mr. Thomasberger and the code enforcement officer. hell, where is Mr. Burke and Mr. Serra- weren't they the two that policed that development before Burke got elected? If Mr. Caruso wants to make himself look good, why isn't he getting Mr. Larkin involved? Let's not pick and choose here guys- the environment should be our #1 priority as it effects us ALL- whether Democrat, Republican, male, female, black, white, young or old- we all have a vested interest. Maybe the elected officials of both the Town and the Village should read some of the comments after the article. I'll do you a favor and list them here...
March 30, 2007 08:05 AM
As a contractor familiar with this developer it's all about the dollar. From what I remember he had a environmental firm over seeing the plant, unfortunatly this guy does not like to pay his bills.
March 30, 2007 07:43 AM Brodsky should call a water treatment company thee is heavily specialized in water management like the Nalco Company to solve water issues. The lowest cost is not always the best.
March 30, 2007 06:30 AM Doesn't Woodbury have an enforcement officer? Were they watching while the building was going on? Did the people who moved in report these things to the town? If so, what was done?
Seems to me these people make some good points. I think we need to keep closer eyes on Woodbury Junction and Legacy Ridge. When these developments are/were approved, why can't there be an inspector hired by the planning board to oversee these projects on a daily basis. Their fees should then be billed back to the developer. Development is inevitable- making sure it's done properly and to code is the municipality's responsibility!!!
I am in total agreement with you sir/madam. Don't know if this is done now but when an EIS (Environment Impact Statement) is done, one of the documents that should be included is a list of past developments accomplished say over the last ten years. The list should include the year, the town/city/village it was in, and a municipal point of contact which could be called to get their assessment of said developer. If "that board" did that, they may have decided differently despite all the carrots the Carteret Group placed in front of them (and has yet to deliver on)
NOT ONE PENNY !!!
In fairness to any developer who embarks on a major subdivision, say more than 10 homes, I'm sure none of them are perfect 100% of the time. However, when they stand to reap huge profits, they should pay extra special attention to the environment and the promises that they make and agree to in writing per their planning and zoning board approvals. The only way to hold them to that is for detailed check lists to be drawn up for every phase of the project, and the municipal code enforcement officers and building inspector should have to sign off of each item BEFORE the project moves forward. Alot of work? OF COURSE IT IS- but if the developer wants to make the profit, then the municipality should develop some kind of fee schedule that would include extra man/woman power to be paid to oversee the checklists. That way, the developer would have to put those funds plus another 50% into escrow with the town/village up front. If the checklist doesn't get done, the developer doesn't move forward, BUT the inspectors would get paid, and the additional 50% would be held until such time that the project is finished. Almost like a performance bond, but instead the municipality would get that lovely thing known as CASH!!! If Brodsky had been held to something like this and was waiting on getting $100,000+ back, don't you think every "i" would have been dotted and every "t" would have been crossed 3 times?? Just a thought.
On another note. The New Village taxes are up to $3,000,000.00, as of today. What will they end up being by June? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Boy thats alot more than Ralph promised. I bet he'll say "I would have kept them lower". These costs are only the basic that the Village needs. Thank you to all the YES voters out there
And where, oh wise one, did you get that $3,000,000 figure from? Have you been attending the budget meetings?
Town hall has copies available.
Why does Town Hall have copies of the Villag Budget since the Village Budget hasn't even been established yet?
Because the Village Clerk is also the Town Clerk. Guess you need to buy the program so you know who is on the team
If 3 million is true I am moving out! There is no way it could be that high?
3 million is not 3 million NEW dollars, it takes into account the water department, planning, zoning, building etc., which gets moved from Town to Village control, so it is not another 3 million, it is being moved from one government to another. the question everyone should be asking is how much is the Town Board going to give back out of the salaries now that they have a hell of alot less to do.
What a interesting comment about the town board. I am a town employee and I see them working more hours than ever having to figure out all the crap the village has been laying on them.
Oh another thing... heard about that bully Gianzero! Yeah she just goes around threatning and bullying everyone!
It's sad when a person like her comes under attack.She has worked hard her years on the board and has more experience than anybody else on the board. She is the go to person if you want it done. WE as town employees know and respect that.
The village board who accuses her of this wanted to take their tax increase of about 340,000 and hide it in the towns budget by collecting all the sales tax revenue making their budget increase next to zero, but the problem with this is the town would have to increase their budget by about that amount (to cover the loss to their police dept) so the town would have to bear the responsibility of the villages budget. Not only is that morally not right it is also cowardly on the villages part.
I guess Gianzero put a wrench in their plan by explaining to our Mayor that the police dept will lose 340,000 in revenues and she supposedly didn't feel that the town should have to raise their taxes to make up for the loss.
At the Village budget meeting Berean-Weeks twisted the story and implied that a Board member threatened her by saying the police would suffer(Berean-Weeks is married to one of our Police Sargents). Crouse demanded that a letter be written to Supervisor complaining about this board member.
What are they crazy?!?!?
Or just sneaky?
The way I see it the Village needs to take responsibilty for their budget and not try to push it off to the town board.
I also feel that the Village Boards budget isn't that bad, so what are they afraid of? The people who voted for this stupid Village will get what they asked for. More taxes and no extra protection from annexation.
We all knew it would come down to this...which board wants to exert more power. Isn't that what it ALWAYS comes down to? Who has the power??? If we think this is bad, just imagine the nightmare if the King of Power himself had gotten in there...ah yes, Ralphie boy. Thank God for small favors!!
What EVERYONE, from Town employees to taxpayers need to realize is that this is new territory- having our Village overlay our town's footprint. There are many issues that will need to be worked out and compromises will need to be made. Will everyone be happy? NO, that's an impossibility- but NO ONE has the right to say it's their way or else. The Village board seems to have accepted their role, for the time being, as the students that need to be educated, and in that, they are trying their best to understand the law while at the same time balancing that with what is best for the residents. Rome wasn't built overnight, and neither will this Village be. Hopefully, the stronger, more tenured Town board members will understand and respect this, and not use bullying tactics, IF indeed that is what has happened.
And just a point of clarification, the Senior member on the current Town Board with the most experience is NOT Geri, but IS Lorraine.
If we are going to start lets get some facts right! Berean-Weeks has no clue of what going after Gerri will do to her, she can kiss good bye the people of Woodbury backing her ever again. Gerri helped her go from house wife to mayor and she does this. Has anyone asked why she is asking for more money? Give me a break ....
From what I can see of these meetings, it looks like Desiree is trying to run the whole show as Town and Village Clerk. Better be careful, and remember that old saying about putting all your eggs in one basket. Good government needs checks and balances, not one person having a say in everything! I'd be careful of giving her too much power if I were you people.
Oh ya, it was Geri, and ONLY Geri who got Stephanie elected. Give me a break! The COMMUNITY PARTY is who got her elected, who did research and who gave Geri her info on the sales tax. Geri had nothing to do with researching and uncovering the flaws in Ralph's so called "kit". Ya, she attended some meetings, but then took information and ran with it. Geri, Mike Q and Lorraine may have backed Stephanie publicly, but Stephanie did alot of the walking, studying, researching, etc on her own and with the help of her party and running mates. Again, don't glorify one single person, when it took a community to elect the mayor!!
O.K Cliff we all know you are the person stirring the pot. Stop protecting your wife, she is a big girl.
Anyone who has really watched Geri in action behind the scenes know that she took a lesson from Ralph's book of bullying when it comes to getting what she wants in politics. Those "in the know" have witnessed her in action, especially when her pal Holly was on the board. Those two had the sharpest tongues in town, and the poison pens to go along with them. Don't be fooled by her demeanor in front of the camera...she can be just as evil as the rest of them.
Why does it always come down to Cliff protecting his wife. How many people voted for Stephanie???Are you saying not one other person can stand up and tell the truth. Please- for the record, I am not Cliff, and frankly, don't really care for the guy.
Oh come now Cliff, that was a very transparent comment. Stephanie (Little Miss Muffet) is going to need all the help she can get after attacking Gerri. Miss Muffet has no following, unlike Gerri. I think its a shame that once she got a little power (and along with her oversized ego) she attacks the very people that got her there.
If Little Miss Muffet can't understand what was being said to her, (which was a fact not a threat) what else will she misunderstand. Its a scary thought.
Think what you will, but I am not Cliff. And talk about over-sized egos, well that's laughable. If Geri doesn't trump Stepahine by at least a mile, then no one does! Let's see, who could YOU be? I've got a pretty good idea, and with that, will warn you that you better keep defending Geri with your last breath, because she does wield a mighty big sword and will cut you at the knees if you go against her. But know that she too has her skeletons, and isn't quite as "nice" or "generous" as you seem to believe. More like a "snake in the grass", so you would do yourself well to tread lightly. Now, since you seem to know so very much about Cliff, do you really think he could write like this? Again, if your answer is yes, then you probably ARE the person I have in mind!
Talk about scary- why don't you look at Big John's record of NOT understanding (ie- the zoning changes???)
It's sad that it has come to this! The Town and Village Board was supposed to work together for the good of the community. I know the people involved and I think this is just a few individuals stirring the pot!
To the previous poster who said "tread lightly". Are you treatening someone? If so, who are you threatening?
I'm not THREATENING anyone- I'm offering words of advice. Having dealt with her before, I know how she can turn very easily- so there was no threat, just advising to proceed with caution. Like dealing with black ice- you don't know how dangerous it is until you're right there upon it.
Sad is a good estimation of what's happening. Someone IS stirring the pot by leaking bits and pieces of things they don't like or don't agree with, and giving half truths, or taking things out of context, and posting it here as TRUTH or FACT. Hopefully members of both boards will let it roll of their shoulders, and continue to work TOGETHER for all of us.
Please enlighten us as to all the people that Gianzero has cut off at the knees? Those slaughtered by her mighty sword! Pray tell, who they might be.
It may not be the number, but the who & why. They know, and so does she. Whether at the orders of Ralph, or the comaraderie of Holly or by her own will, she has wrongfully gone after people at times, and it may or may not catch up to her. All I am saying is that she is not some sterling saint who is sole responsible for putting Stepahnie in office, nor is she so well-liked by the voters that she is untouchable...remember that she only beat Darlene, (a relative newcomer and somewhat extremist) by 190 votes. IF she is making threats, and bullying as she has been known to do in the past, those who think she's so wonderful should take notice. Is that such a hard concept to understand?
Just one example. Thats all. Give us ONE example.
See- you all ARE stupid, as I said in a different thread.
Gerri did this...
Little Miss...
the board did...
The disrespect and the comments based on very little information just illustrates the level of maturity and the level of intelligence of you Woodbury residents. And you ought to be ASHAMED of yourselves!!!!
For those of you with some level of decency: Real estate is still cheap in the Carolinas, come on down!!!
Harry how are you doing .... good to see you getting on the dumb Woodbury blog site ........ to bad you moved , you would have loved the current local bashing of all the characters in town .... ...........JK
it is really too bad that Stephanie weaks double crossed gerri.Stephanie implied to her village board that gerri was strong arming them by insinuating possible cutbacks. what is even more sad is that cliff weaks is running both the police department and the village board. it seems when we elected the village board, we really elected their spouses. at least the town board stands on its own two feet and the people we elected are the people who run the board. gerri has done the most to be fairminded when it comes to the concerns of the employees. she has been a member of the police negotiating committee for years. I wonder what would the police dept's life be like with the likes of john burke or mike queenan being on that committee. its a shame when people bite off the hand that feeds them. another ridiculous notion is doubling all the village employees salaries. If I am not mistaken, Desiree-the town/village clerk probably makes more money than anyone else in town. and let's not forget stephanie, she needs her salary raised. after all she puts in so much time on village business - with having to stay up all night with her husband, cliff weaks, to write down all his instructions for the village. what a joke, how do they justify increasing all these salaries. oh, i forgot, they will just give their spouses great big raises. this way, the tax burden won't impact them.
hello
I've tried to determine what is actually happening, and as I understand it the facts aren't nearly as much fun as the rumors.
1. Under State law the Village has first call on sales tax money coming from the County to Woodbury.
2. The Town and the Village boards are working to divide up the money based on budgetary needs.
3. The Town has certain large obligations that it has to meet. Paying for the police department is one of the biggest (perhaps the single biggest).
4. The Village Board understands this need and has no problem seeing to it that the Town receives the funds to meet those obligations.
5. After all the Town obligations are met, the remaining income must go to meet the Villages obligations (insurance being one of the largest).
6. If there are insufficient funds left, the Village will have to levy taxes to meet the difference (which is why we have said all along that forming a village will add to our taxes).
These are all facts. Whether or not anyone felt that somewhere along the way these facts were not presented sweetly or diplomatically or whatever no one involved has any doubt that both boards recognize the reality of the situation and both want to do all that is possible to keep taxes down, meet all needed obligations and work together for the good of the people of Woodbury.
And that's the bottom line.
The oddest part of the posts that I have read is the idea that there is some sort of showdown between Gerri and Stephanie. I have watched the two of them work together and there is no hint of friction. They make a terrific team one from the Town, one from the Village and both doing all that they can to get it right for Woodbury.
But someone (or some group) finds it useful to invent a war between them that doesn't exist. I suggest that anyone interested in the reality of the situation ought to watch or attend the Town and Village board meetings. First hand knowledge is a wonderful cure for misinformation.
Isn't friction always part of the formula? That's how the people that work behind the scenes get the upper hand. Whoever can make their "story" more believable gets to sway the voters. Afterall, isn't that how we ended up with a Village?? As far as both boards working well together, I'm not 100% sold, but I do believe that they are trying. As far as salaries, as the shift of departments happens, and the Village board has to do more work, naturally they would expect to be paid for it. On the flip side of that, if the responsibilities of the Town board lessen, then their salaries should decrease in ratio. Since the number and positions on each board are equal, then the salaries that increase on one side should be taken from their counterpart on the other side. If their duties are equal, then take the present salaries of all, add them up and divide them by two so that the Supervisor & Mayor are making the same amount, and ditto for the councilpeople and the trustees. Does the Village board get health insurance like the Town Board?
The town board still has the major departments. The Police, Highway,Parks,Courts, Building & Grounds,Library, etc. I watch the meetings, they are still are doing 90% of the work. It justifies their salaries.
The village only has the Water-Sewer and the Building Dept. Why would it be a 50-50 split? The town council people only make 7,000 or 8,000 dollars a year. The Supervisor only makes 50,000-60,000 a year. Give me a break!
I do not feel that what the new mayor is asking in salary is unreasonable. I believe the only way to get good people to run our town/village is to pay them what they deserve.
I also feel what we pay the town board members is fine. Why are we attacking their salaries and benefits?
What axe do you have to grind with the town board.
I wish people like you would stop picking on the elected officials who are grossly underpayed as it is.
The way I see it is the village board is getting bad advice, from a husband which in my mind is a conflict of interest, a power hungry clerk looking to make money, some employees, and a few who do not like the town board and Supervisor. The people of Woodbury are greeting screwed by the Village and will have to pay through the nose because of higher taxes. When we see their budget I have heard from a few the Mayor salary is higher then the $2,500 she gets now and the clerk is over $25, 000! Why is it that some trustees will take no salary and others are asking for triple, what a mess and bad leadership? I heard they have over $100,000 for attorney’s fess that’s higher then the Town has now? I just hope behind their closed door meeting it’s not a few town employees and elected officials seeing what’s best for them not what is in the best interest or the Village? I am asking the Town Board please look after the people of Woodbury because after listening to this the Village is not.
Dear Ralphling,
So, attorney's fees are going to be high? What a surprise.
Oh wait, now I remeember, when you folks were pushing us to form a village, weren't the rest of us screaming that it would be expensive and that attorney fees would be huge?
As to the Village Board getting bad advice, again and again posters here have asked for specific complaints and you haven't posted any (unless you count the trustees' decision that the mayor should get more than $2,500 a year, Heaven forfend!).
Higher taxes? Yeah, we warned everyone all about that too. And you folks lied and lied, giving us all blatently phony tax projections.
So, Dear Ralphling, go take a flying leap.
Any conflict between any members of either board is pure fiction. You people need to get a life and do something to make this world better.
Talk is cheap. Get out there and do domething productive instead of perpetuating lies.
Yes, the Village budget is here, but it is not written in stone. Why not show up at the Village meetings and talk to the people directly? Most of the budget was already part of the Town budget. It is just being shifted over to the Village. Therefore, your town taxes will be deminished to reflect this move. Not all of the trustees are taking a salary. They have full time jobs with benefits. Would you be willing to donate your time? I think not!
All the Village board members excersized their right to vote with only one of them voting in favor of the Village formation. It was these individuals that questioned the lies put forth by the other candidates who would most certainly have crushed Woodbury.
Everyone in this town/village is aware that we would incur another layer of government. The trick is NOT to duplicate services like our neighboring communities and to work together to build a strong relationship with both boards.
I challange anyone who has posted here to bring forth only pure evidence that any member of either board has not acted on behalf of the best interest of the public.
To the poster @ 10:10 am who stated that the elected officials are "grossly underpaid", and stated that I have an axe to grind- perhaps you should reread my post. I stated that IF the duties were EQUAL, then they should be paid EQUALLY. Sounds like you're a little overzealous in your defense- could you in fact be a Town board member or a Town employee unhappy with what you're making? Perhaps that is why you simply skipped the huge word IF!!!
And to the next poster at 10:22- PROVE your statement that the Village board is taking and acting upon advice from anyone other than themselves and their attorney. You act like these five individuals have some kind of manual written in stone for them to follow, and that they are simply not abidding by it.Do you even know the challenges that they are facing in the uniqueness of THIS Village? For example-The fire district debacle is just one area that they are putting hours of research into, and trying to get special legislation...you know, the area that they were RIGHT about and Ralph was so very WRONG about!!! Also, the intermunicipal agreements that must be hammered out- again, hours of research, debate and compromise on the part of the Village & the Town.
You people make me laugh with your erroneous statements of what you perceive to be FACT. Instead of doing your homework, you take what you hear on the street, or the way you think it should be, give it a good twist and then throw it out there for people to believe.
Here's a new idea...why not let those elected officials for the Town and Village continue to do their jobs, and once the budgets and agreements are actually approved, then you can start your moaning, whining and complaining!!
I can assure you I am not a town board member,but a friend to both boards.
I question you because you sound like a village board member stating that the two boards should be paid the same amount.
They all work hard and get paid a small token according to their work loads. I also feel the mayor should get an increase in salary so that she can get paid for all the work and time she puts in.
To suggest that someone should take a pay decrease is attacking and not very well thought out.
Maybe someday if the Village takes on all the departments or more responsibility than salaries should be adjusted, (Mostly Supervisor and Mayor) because the others already get paid very little.
I am just sick of all the accusations being made on this blog against all the good people who represent us. I would NOT want their job.
I am certainly not a member of any board, just a resident who knows how hard it is to sit in those seats. I've seen good people in those seats absolutely destroyed by big-mouthed idiots who seem to think they can do a better job, and yet never step up to the plate. It's always easy to be the arm chair quarterback, but when it comes down to getting on the field and possibly getting your ass kicked, the know-it-alls hide in the shadows.
Anyway, what it still all boils down to is both boards turning their collective backs on the gossip, innuendo and ignorance of the morons who THINK they run the show. Political aspirations and other agendas need to be dismissed, and they all need to move forward TOGETHER, making sure to keep the best interests of the taxpayers and residents as their #1 goal... afterall, we all live here don't we??
Is HD really contributing to this blog? If so, is he on drugs?
Harley Doles?
Henry David (Thoreau)?
Homer Dimsum?
Hank Dullivan?
Close, but no cigar.
Harley Davidson is posting here?
VROOOOOOOM!
Harry was very smart and left this place.
I am the blogger from the Carolinas and I am not HD: Definitely not Henry Dobson (because he doesn't know such big words), not Harley Davidson, not Henry Doles etc.
I loved Woodbury but was glad to retire and get out when I did because Woodbury has turned into something horrible and this blog is evidence of this change for the worse. You are all stupid and, as I have mentioned, I am glad that I am out. I am sad that some of my family is still there and I hope that the humanity and decency that they have is not destroyed by being near all of you mindless, ignorant, selfish people.
The nonsense, the backstabbing, betraying friends; that's all you seem to know.
Or perhaps it's just the nature of blogs in general: they bring out the worst in people.
Ignorant??? Have you moved to a place that is so isolated that politics doesn't exist?? Be real- this type of behavior exists EVERYWHERE, and you are fooling yourself if you think otherwise. Obviously it's doing something for YOU, or you wouldn't keep returning.
Are you the same person who worked for the town and now your kids do too? Give me a break....
yes, ms. carolina, you made sure that nepotism was fully enforced during your tenure. And, if you aren't the pot calling the kettle black. You talked about more employees and spread idle gossip more than anyone going. And lets not forget about your buyout. How nice it is to sit on your porch drinking mint tea and pass comment now. Bottom line is it seems the employees/elected officials had one goal and that was to make sure that whatever happens benefits themselves and their families
Well said, there are many departments that in the past had nepotism. Oh and lets not forget about the highway dept and the last guy they hired, what a mess that was. Please you have left Woodbury now stay out of our blog.
NOT ONE PENNY!!
for some of the participants on this blog who don't have a long historical reference they have been talking about Betty Wallace who ran the building dept office.
I am the blogger from the Carolinas, I was never a town employee, I am not Mrs. Wallace and I do not have any family working for the town.
So, without any verification, you stupid people run with the notion of criticizing Mrs. Wallace and town employees.
I return to the blog because my friends here cannot believe what is on the blog. And for those of you who think this is normal, you are wrong! Politics is more civil, the people have more civility in general where I live now. Yes the local politicans disagree, but they simply are not as nasty and ignorant as you.
You are ALL very Stupid.
Enjoy your stupid lives.
Goodbye.
Ah, those good and kind politicians from the Carolins.
Perhaps you are thinking of that racist bastard Strom Thurmond. Or maybe it is Jesse Helms that you so admire, one of the vilest men to grace the Senate this past century.
Or maybe it is the soft-spoken Lindsey Graham, who led the impeachment of a President for lying about sex, but wants to pardon Scooter Libby who lied about revealing a covert CIA agent while we were already a nation at war in Afghanistan.
Oh, if only we had those wonderful Carolina politicians here.
Not!
"Anonymous said...
From what I can see of these meetings, it looks like Desiree is trying to run the whole show as Town and Village Clerk. Better be careful, and remember that old saying about putting all your eggs in one basket. Good government needs checks and balances, not one person having a say in everything! I'd be careful of giving her too much power if I were you people."
First - If Desiree wanted to "run the whole show" she could have run for election as Mayor or even Supervisor. She did not.
Also, in my opinion, it make sense to have a common figure in both governments, especially during the transition. Even Ralph said he would have hired Desiree as Village Clerk if he was elected Mayor.
"Anonymous said... Desiree-the town/village clerk probably makes more money than anyone else in town."
Desiree's salary is public information. I have reviewed the Town budget for 2007 and the proposed Village budget for 2007/8 as well as minutes of both entities. Here is what I learned:
Town Salary $49,900
Village Salary $24,000 ($4000 of which is part of Fire District Secretary if that gets dissolved)
Fire District $8,100
Now tell me, who in their right mind would be at the beck-in-call of 15 different individuals (5 members per Board) for so little. The Town salary is fine since she has been doing the job for almost 10 years. The Fire District she has been doing since Kathy (Ungerzat) gave it up (2000?) and the Village she was asked to do. Did anyone else come forward and offer to help? I think $20,000 to do all of that work is very little compared to the whole picture.
And, by the way, there are several TOWN ONLY EMPLOYEES that get paid a hell of a lot more money then Desiree does.
FOIL the information and find out. I am not talking about the police either!!!!
I personally think it is disgusting that she is making over 80,000 a year. I can't imagine how she has that much time on her hands to do an effective job. I mean eight hours a day at town hall, plus meetings at nite. Then she must be putting in 20 hours or so for the village.And of course,how much time is she putting in for the fire district. She must be completely exhausted, poor thing. Her poor family must feel completely neglected with her working so hard and all. Or is it possible that while at Town Hall she is doing Village business or Fire Dept. business. It won't be the first time she tried to finagle things. Oh, I didn't see any posting for the Village Clerk position. I must have missed that one. By the way, how much does the Supervisor make? It is pretty sad when his clerk makes more. For what?
You forgot, she also gets a salary for being official recoprds keeper for the Town. And no there was absolutely no posting for the position of Village clerk.
For each employee that is hired at a lesser salary, health benefits, retirement benefits and all else the individual is entitled to still have to be paid...so why not pay only one person who knows what they are doing and save money in the long run?
I don't buy that one. The FD is a volunteer agency. didn't know that they pay for benefits to part timers. If that is the case it might explain our exhorbinant taxes. As Far as the Village, are they in the habit of providing full time benefits for part time employees. Again, that is the case, nice way to doubly rip of the community. I believe the Town Board finally cracked down on abusing the system by making people contribute to health insurance. Nice try to justify your outrageous salaries and ripping off the public. Please think before you speak
I would have to believe that Desiree came to her own defense by posting as anonymous-
IF that is the case, there are several things we, the public should be alarmed by.
#1- Add in the health benfits to her already lofty salary, and she is sitting damn pretty for being able to practically roll out of bed to her job.
#2- She states, rather matter-of- factly, that Ralph would have made her Village clerk had he won. We, the public as well as EVERY Town and Village Board member and Supervisor and Mayor better be VERY alarmed by that statement.Was Desiree making back room deals with Ralph Caruso? Boy did she have all her bases covered!! That's certainly making a deal with the devil himself!
#3-With regard to being at the BECK AND CALL of 15 people, if it's too hot then she should get out of the damn kitchen! She's the Town/Village Clerk- she's supposed to be at the BECK AND CALL of ALL the people of the Town/Village- and, newsflash, she's getting paid a mighty good salary and has better benefits than 75% of the residents (that WE pay for). If she doesn't like it, quit! There would probably be a line a mile deep to take her job and her benefits!!
#4- We should all remember that we may certainly vote her out of office if warranted, and the Village board may reappoint anyone they deem fit (no Des, it's not a lifetime appointment, and sorry to say, you weren't simply entitled to the job.)
Wow, we're getting blogged from Forrest Gump of the Carolina's."Momma says, Stupid is..."
Desiree I will not be voting for you in the next election if it is true that if Raplh won you would be the village clerk too. Also I don't you should be both Town and Village clerk. Two Herbs in the Village and Two Herbs in the Town are two much for me.
Oh Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do!!!
several employees that get paid more than desiree.. that are not cops? i dont think so.. maybe two or three and they are dept. heads. get the facts straight. A-hole.
The "a-hole" comment isn't actually a useful addition.
I think what we are getting from this post is that Desiree has been ripping off this town for long enough. She has single handedly managed to put herself in all the key positions managing to make the most money. She comes off as this sweet helpful little thing but that is far from reality. She is really quite cunning and manipulative. She has secured employement for herself, her mother, her husband and now wants another family member to work for the town/village. To say that there are others who make more than her is a joke. Yes, there are some department heads who make money but they are PROFESSIONAL TRAINED workers and not a souped up secretary. What she is good at is taking care of her own. If you cross her, she is a mean vindictive b--tch. Just ask anyone who works with her. Her own appointees are afraid to open their mouth for the fear of her. I agree with previous poster. She needs to go. I think that at reelection time, it needs to be brought out how she is ripping off this town. How she tries to secure jobs for her family. How she bends the rules for her own/family gains. How she has her hand and nose in everything. It is about time people started complaining about her. It is time for a change. Get the Herbs out of Woodbury politics.
Desiree will be earning more than
the dept. heads. Most of them are earning somewhere in the mid 70's with the exception of the town supervisor and highway super. They both earn much less.
"She has secured employement for herself, her mother, her husband and now wants another family member to work for the town/village." Please there is no truth to that, unless you have some to share.
Her sister assists their mother sending and collecting the tax bills.
Didn't the town board pass a law two years ago so this could not happen?
Her husband used to work for the Highway Deptarment but quit. I heard that before he quit he wanted to sue the Town. They collectively tried to get the Town to cover him for health insurance then wanted teh Town to pay him for not taking the insurance but yet he was still covered under Desiree. Once he quit, he wanted to come back to the Highway Deptartment and Desiree begged everyone to take him back, promising b ack door deals. I think thats when the Town Board passed the law to prevent this. I didn't know her sister works for the Town too. Give me a break!
It probably doesn't apply here because the tax collector can "contract" her helper.
In fairness, mother Carol was tax collector BEFORE Desiree became Town Clerk. I believe Kathy Unverzagt brought Desiree in as an assistant, and she worked her way up from there(perhaps with Ralph's blessing??). I understand that she did pull some strings to have her husband hired by the Highway department, eventhough he was not properly qualified, and there were other more qualified applicants. So, that is a fair point of contention. He later left/was fired/or something, but is no longer employed by the department and later tried to sue the Town. (That's gratitude for you).
As with many elected positions, once these people get into office, their worth goes to their head, and they get a somewhat inflated ego. Sadly, this appears to have happened to Desiree, and she has positioned herself in a way so that she does all and knows all. Again, making herself invaluable to both the Town and the Village. One could certainly say she has been both opportunistic as well as overly ambitious. I would just like to know how she gets ALL the jobs done for ALL the hats she wears. Sounds like she MUST be using Town time to do Village and Fire District work, or vice versa...something is certainly overlapping. Can't believe the Supervisor would allow her to be doing this, but perhaps he doesn't have a clue???
I agree. It seems another poster also was wondering the same thing. There are so many hours in a day. How is it possible that she can do record keeping, fire department, town clerk and village clerk , volunteer on various committees attend woman of woodbury luncheons and whatever else she has her finger in. It would certainly seem like she would have to be using town time for all these other "jobs".
I believe the Town Supervisor did not want her doing Village work on "Town" time. She responded back by reminding the Supervisor that she was an 'elected official' and he had no jurisdiction telling her how to run HER office. It should be noted that the Village Clerk position is APPOINTED, not elected.
There are regular 'Village' hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 3-5PM. What 'work' goes on there is anyone's guess.
So wait, are you saying that as an ELECTED official, she can have and do other jobs at the same time that she is "supposed" to be doing Town work? That sounds like the same thing those cops over in Montgomery or Walden got in trouble for when they were clocking hours at a second job for the SAME time they were getting paid to be a cop. Illegal moonlighting is what it seems to be. And she has the nerve to say she's underpaid??
That just doesn't seem right. Are you saying that John and Pete could have 2nd full time jobs if they wanted to? That's a huge loop-hole that should be remedied. Desiree should have to do Town work at Town Hall, then go to the Village office and do Village work, and then to the fire district and do whatever. Boy is the public getting ripped off on that one. Does she get a certain amount of sick/vacation/personal time too? I should hope not if she's just allowed, as an ELECTED offical to come and go as she pleases....seems like the whole job is one big vacation!
Don't forget, shes also the Village Tresurer. And comes with yet another salary. So shes...
Village Clerk 24,000
Village Tresurer 7,000
Official Records keeper ???
Town Clerk 49,900
Fire Secretary 8,100
Let me see if I have this right,four people from one family have worked for the town? The Mother hired her daughter to help with the taxes, was a job ever posted so other people could apply? The town clerks husband was hired in the highway department, again did others apply. Someone posted "They collectively tried to get the Town to cover him for health insurance then wanted teh Town to pay him for not taking the insurance but yet he was still covered under Desiree." That can't be true because what you are saying is he had insurance under her but because he was working for the town now and didn't take the town coverage he would get some payout? So first he gets a job and then we should pay him for something he already has, are you sure this is true, but if it is she should resign. Another poster said she will be the Village Clerk 24,000
Village Tresurer 7,000
Official Records keeper ???
Town Clerk 49,900
Fire Secretary 8,100
if this is true I ask again why are not these jobs offered to other people in Woodbury? Time to call 60 Minutes.
Although I don't believe Potvin's lawsuit went anywhere, it does seem like another loophole in the way the Town is run. For instance, say Geri had health insurance through her husband's job, then she is entitled to get a reimbursement, I believe, at the single's rate for NOT taking the Town's coverage. Don't you remember that big "ta-do" with Henry Dobson, when it was found that he was getting reimbursed at the FAMILY rate, since he had his own insurance, and he got po'ed about it when they wanted him to go to the single rate??? So, if Potvin had covered Desiree under his insurance when he worked for the Town, would Desiree have been entitled to be reimbursed at the single rate? The way the rules are written at this point, it seems like the answer would have been yes. I think the problem is that they tried to do it in the reverse, and I don't think it works that way for non-elected officials. Anyway, if someone would take a good hard look at all the financial loop-holes of the Town, and in the future, the Village as well, I'm sure alot of $$ could be trimmed from the budgets.
I do agree that if not 60 minutes, then possibly the TH-R should take a look at the double-dipping jobs that Desiree now holds. Why aren't these other jobs advertised? And why was she making deals with Village candidates (Mr. Caruso)BEFORE the election?? Again, where are the checks and balances??
To clear up the double dipping on the insurance. I believe the way the handbook was written if you were on the Town's insurance plan, you weren't entitled to a buyout/payout. It didn't specify for individual coverage or policy holder. It stated "covered". Mr. Potvin was "covered". Let's also specify that prior to marrying Mr. potvin, Des had a single policy which cost the town approximately 4,000.00. When she married her husband she took out a family policy (rightfully so-nothing wrong with that) but the cost also doubled for the town close to 8,000.00 a year. So, to then try to bilk the town for a payout is terrible. He was "covered" by the town's insurance. A little side note, when he did get hired, Des created her own form, without Townboard approval and had her husband sign it, which would have in essence entitled him to the buyout. See Des, is always looking out for Des. Oh, by the way, I believe these loopholes have been closed out. Buyouts are not offered anymore and the Town did try to put in effect a nepotism clause.
Again- checks and balances!!! Who is watching Miss Desiree? Do her books get balanced, and if so by whom??? Or, does she oversee her own books too? Does anyone look at her department's phone bills(personal long distance calls), postage (for personal mail & packages), etc? These things may sound trivial, but when we're all working hard to pay our own household bills, and through our taxes pay HER salaries, I think these things SHOULD be scrutinized.
Oh, and one final question, do the full-time elected official positions have to pay anything towards their health insurance if they take it?
The town board a few years back required all new employees/elected officials to contribute if they wanted health insurance. Maybe 10 or 20% of the insurance. If you didn't need the insurance, you didnt take it b ecause you had to contributed like the rest of america for it and you didn't get that glorious buy out anymore. This only applies to the Town Board. You might want to check with the village board to find out what/if anything they are doing with health insurance. They might see it as a free for all to get additional insurance for themselves because as you know it is a new animal and they can do whatever they want. Personaly, I think they shouldnt do it but hey. As it seems, they are all out for themselves. You votged for it.
Now that's a moronic statement...a few of the Village bd members aren't even taking the pittance of a salary allocated!! So, ya, that's right, they certainly seem like they're out for themselves!!! NOT!!
And you may want to check the record, as I thought the newer Town bds tweaked the rules again about employees paying into their health insurance, in fact I think they got rid of that completely, and it's our tax dollars paying 100% for it again!
You must be on the Village Board. I thought the Town Board finalized a contract with the Employees, so how can the tweak anything.
That was probably prior to the UNION being created. So, do any of the TOWN employees or elected officials (present or future) contribute to their health insurance?? Currently there is no health insurance offered to the Mayor or the Trustees!!
The Village trustee have health insurance through their private jobs. The Mayor is covered under her police officer spouse. Desiree is insured through the town health plan.
New employees absolutly are contributing to the health insurance.. not that it really matters but i thought this blog started out by bashing swiller..
if so we are a little off topic.
All employees hired on or after January 1st 2003 contribute 20% towards their health insurance. Same goes for the town elected officials elected after January 1st 2003. The only new employees not contributing towards their health insurance are the Police and Dispatchers. They are in a different union.
It's funny how one of the posters here wants to defend the village board and yet bash the town board. Sounds like a spouse of a certain village board member.
Shameful............
Could you Explain what you mean that Des created her own form so that her husband could get the buyout? Is she allowed to write policy for the Town? Is she legally able to do that?
Anonymous said...
Could you explain what you mean that Des created her own form so that her husband could get the buyout? Is she allowed to write policy for the Town? Is she legally able to do that? If that statement was TRUE did Town Board know about it and if they did why did they cover it up? There are too many things here; husbands and kids getting jobs, insurance forms, another one wanting a Village Job, town clerk, insurance payouts, village clerk, etc it all sounds like someone has photos of all the town and village board members. What bothers me most is if and I say (IF) the town clerk is allowed to create documents and then the board covers it up. I hope at the next Town Board Meeting someone asked that question and its time send this thread to the Times herald Record to look into this!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Always a coverup or conspiracy! Good lord please take your medication.
Please don't sprain a finger dialing the Times Herald Record number for your breaking story of misconduct on the behalf of the town clerk, town board and whoever else you think might be involved in the headline story you are about to break!
Happy Holiday's to the few that are still sane in Woodbury!
Gerri I am asking you did she write her own form?
Someone said "A little side note, when he did get hired, Des created her own form, without Townboard approval and had her husband sign it, which would have in essence entitled him to the buyout." If that is true someone needs to ask the Village why they are putting her in charge?
Oh, it's true!
Perhaps BOTH boards need an EXECUTIVE session, minus Miss Desiree, to discuss these items. Unless, of course, Miss Desiree takes charge like she usually does and decides to address the issue herself at the next public meetings!
Desire will bully the Board (again) along with John Burke. Sheila was a push over and afraid of Desiree, (Idon't know why). And I guess Burke is too. Otherwise why would he put up with her "Holier than thou" crap. She does all kinds of work in that Town Hall that have NOTHING to do with the Town. Residents complained to Sheila over and over about how rude Desiree was, and she never did a thing about it. I hope Burke gets a pair.
Even if he did, Desiree would just reiterate that she IS an elected official, and because of that, NO ONE will tell her what to do! I would really hope that she would have some competition for the next election...watch how sweet and humble she'll become then!!
Aren't you giving Miss Desiree a little too much credit? How does she "bully" 5 people? Can't one of them stand up to her? Or, like others have said, has she made herself irreplaceable?
I want to know why the village Board appointed Carol Herb to be Village Tax collector, and will pay her 11,000.00, when no other Village in Orange County has one. Desiree is getting a salary to do this very job! Why is her mother getting paid $11,000.00 to do it. Thats what you were hired for Desiree, remember. If you can't handle the work load, then quit. If you need assistants to do a job that all other Village treasurers do than thats too bad. Her salary for Village Clerk and Treasurer was supposed to be 8,000.00 total. WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT DESIREE? Now we will pay a total of 35,000.00 to the Herbs, for doing a job that every other Village treasurer in the county does. It amazes me how this can happen!
And tell me how in 8 hours Desiree can do two full time jobs without them overlapping. I'm sorry 24,000. is a full time salary for many people. This is a crock of sh**. The Village Board has some explaining to do.
4:39 PM
In Desiree's defense, village work is not done on town time. There are evenings and weekends. Many of us have had second jobs. It can be done. I have done it! And NO, I am not a member of the Herb family.
Oh please, Desiree is out and about on the weekends, and NOT doing Village work...so that is a laughable use of her time. She has her hands into so many other things, that we all know she's doing Village work on Town time and getting paid a double salary. Here's a thought. Why not put a time clock in the Village office and pay Desiree only for the time that she is THERE doing her Village work?? Are the files of the Village kept at Village Hall? If not, they should be, and that is where she should be dooing her work...not at Town Hall, not at home, and not where ever she goes gambling or sightseeing.
To the last poster,
You obviously dislike Desiree, but I know for a fact that Village records are kept at the Fire House and not at Town Hall and that
Desiree has been at her Village Hall desk on many Saturday mornings when the rest of you are probably still asleep.
I guess none of you ever balanced your checkbook or made any personal phone calls from your workplaces? Let he who is without guilt cast the first stone!
I have no feelings about her one way or another. But, if the job as Village clerk was posted and advertised to the general population as " Part-time job available, make up your own hours and work when you please for a salary of $8k and soon to increase to $20k plus", I'm sure the line for applicants would have stretched down Rte 32. Doesn't the Village have designated hours of operation? Why shouldn't those be the hours that she is there? Do those hours conflict with the hours she's supposed to be at Town Hall? How many people that hold down two jobs are doing them simultaneously? And, if she is doing them simultaneously, then logic dictates that she most likely has Village stuff at Town Hall or the other way around.
Also, in an earlier posting someone brought up benefits. Since she gets benefits from the Twon, is she entitled to be "paid back" for benefits that she isn't taking from the Village?
Desiree's town and village hours do not overlap as much as you are trying to imply. You sound like you have been watching her every move. Are you stalking her?
You sound like there is only one person that has a concern. After reading all the postings, it sounds like there is a lot of insider information. Maybe it's those close to her that know the truth and are tired of it.
Sounds like plain ol'jeaslousy to me.
Only a handful of insiders know about this site, and if you believe that every comment is from a different person in the know, I have a bridge to sell you!
Only a handful...I'll sell that same bridge back to you!
Resting a little easier now?
I am sad as I read Uncle Betty,
That people seem awfully petty,
all over this site,
there appears malicious blight,
These malcontents make me sweaty!
Petty? Do you pay taxes in Woodbury?
wow, you people need to get a life!blah, blah, blah, blah, is that the village/town officals talking or is it Charlie Browns teacher on the phone! idiots!
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