KRAMER vs. KRAMER

Here is the scenario:  Madigan & Scirocco are against open government and are against bringing any change to Saratoga that will affect their little kingdom.  What is the relation?  Madigan who is worried that her name goes on all the checks might not have a job this fall and not because the form of government may change.  This election cycle operates the same way and a new form would not have elections until when we vote again in 2019 and take effect until 2020.  She is short changing citizens from voting on the issue in a special election that the State says is legal.  Secondly, the two of these shortsighted ‘leaders of our City’ are neck deep in two separate NYS Attorney General Investigation inside City Hall. Additionally, We will be losing most of our VLT funding because of the pending opening of the casino in Schenectady and neither one have proposed any solutions to the decline in revenues.

This is all happening at a time Madigan is signing checks to build a $750,000.00 bathroom for her finance people, for that price it will have golden toilets, sinks with golden handles and an extra size personal stall with an extra wide toilet for her royal highness the Princess Madigan.

Expenses for a referendum vote on May 30th

I have it on a reliable source that this topic has already been discussed in a small group meeting. In the meeting with Finance, the staff agreed that said money would be available from the existing Fund Balance. True, it has not been ‘budgeted’, but there are ample funds available in the fund balance carried over from 2016, according to Finance staff.”

I also did research on the last 15 years of our city budget. We have consistently received high marks and compliments based on our budget practices. Once again Madigan takes all credit (naughty girl).

 I will have a follow up post on the budgetary outlook for that past 15 years

The Charter Review Commission has had many large group and sub-committee meetings, all of them open to the public since June 2016 and I don’t know how many Commissioners if any attended the invited Mayors, City Managers and Mayor/City Managers from cities around New York State who gave insightful information.  I know Madigan isn’t one of them nor has she even looked at any meetings on the City’s website as her erroneous comment below from the Daily Gazette:

“If approved by the voters during a special election set for May 30, take effect in 2019 — halfway through the two-year terms to which council members will seek reelection in November.

Ms. Madigan, if you were truly a representative of the people you would know the facts before opening your mouth.  There is a city election this year (11/17) for a normal 2 year term of the existing Commission Form of Government.  The election for 2019 again a regular timed city election would be to elect the new Council which would be sworn in on January 1, 2020.  This would be a normal transfer.  GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD.  Pay attention instead of being afraid of losing the power you use demeaning the citizens. 

Here is some information from the Daily Gazette:

“Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen argued that a council-manager form would make city government more efficient, more democratic and more representative of the people.

He called the commission form outdated and “inherently contradictory.”  “You can’t be a legislator and an executive at the same time,” he said. “This is the United States of America — this is not a dictatorship — so you have separate bodies, and you have a balance of power.

Well that’s missing in Saratoga Springs, and the ability for people to participate directly in city government is very limited.”

He added, “These five people all have too much power — each of them, including me.”

Mathiesen, who is joined by Mayor Joanne Yepsen in supporting a special election, said the other councilors appear to be blocking the review group’s efforts to create a charter that would eliminate their positions.

“There’s a real problem here in terms of conflict of interest,” he said.

He also said putting the charter on the ballot in November would be a “very bad idea.”

“I think it would mix up the issues regarding the referendum with the politics of the candidates who are running at that time,” he said.

More from Madigan in The Gazette article

“Madigan also took issue with the commission’s decision to have the changes, if approved by the voters during a special election set for May 30, take effect in 2019 — halfway through the two-year terms to which council members will seek reelection in November.”  WRONG

“I don’t even know if I would run for commissioner of finance if the form of government is going to change,” she said. “Maybe I would run for mayor.”

 ‘Madigan said she doesn’t expect the group’s request for $37,000 in special election funding to be approved by the Council, refuting Turner's position that Municipal Home Rule Law 36 gives the commission authority to call for an election and have it be funded by the city.”

“I believe the Council has to take a stand on that,” Madigan said. “There’s not really a lot of case law in terms of municipal home rule law.”

And there is good reason that there have not many challenges. So, will the City sue itself?

Here is a copy of a recent legal opinion, look it up yourself.

The relevant provision regarding the scheduling of the election is Municipal Home Rule Law § 36(5)(b), which provides in relevant part:

(b) Such new charter or amendments shall be completed and filed in the office of the city clerk in time for submission to the electors not later than the second general election after the charter commission is created and organized. The local law or certificate establishing the commission or, in the absence of such provision therein, the charter commission shall provide for such publication or other publicity in respect to the provisions of the proposed charter or amendments as it may deem proper, and for submission thereof to the electors of the city at a general or special election held not earlier than sixty days after the filing thereof in the office of the city clerk and not later than the next general election which does not occur within the said sixty days, provided, however, that if such general election occurs within ninety days after the said filing, the proposed charter or amendments shall be submitted at such general election. [emphasis mine]

In an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General which concludes

We conclude that the local law or certificate establishing a charter commission may determine whether a proposed charter or amendments to an existing charter are to be submitted at a general or special election. In the absence of such a determination, the charter commission may determine the election at which the proposals are submitted to the voters for approval.   

The City of Saratoga Springs City Council did not place any restriction on the charter commission when it was formed in 2016, pursuant to MHRL § 36, it is the charter commission which determines whether to put the charter amendment to a vote at a general or special election.

Sounds like another law suit Kramer vs Kramer

“They are expending funds without the authority to do so right now, and that’s a problem for me,” she said. “My name goes on all the checks that go out from the city.”

So, she would be signing the checks for her new $750,000.00 ‘bathroom’’.

 Museum vs Toilet $750,000.00

Musee du Louvre vs Madigan du Loo

Now Skip & Michelle, huddle over a bottle of French wine and come up with some other blank ideas on how to stop a transparent and open government for the people from happening.

Now there is a movie Kramer vs. Kramer but I rather think the picture above is how Madigan & Scirocco look since they seem joined at the hip and Madigan has to write all of Sciroco's scripts (um).