Beware, there is no democracy in the town of Dansville, Steuben County. At the Aug. 9 Town Board meeting, Robert Mahany acted as chairman in Michael Willis’s absence. He ran the meeting like a dictator would. He was very resentful of the large group of residents in attendance, who had huge concerns about the board passing a pro-fracking resolution without public knowledge.
This happened at the June 14, meeting, and was done without disclosure to the public. Apparently, at the May 10 meeting, while in executive session for a personnel matter, the board discussed a “Profracking Resolution” forwarded to them by the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency (copies of this letter and proposed resolution were forwarded to nearly all the towns in the county).
The Dansville board apparently discussed this in executive session, and decided to pass it in June in a secretive manner. Under the Open Meetings Law this is an illegal procedure and therefore nullifies this resolution. Under New York State Town Law it is illegal to act on a resolution in executive session that the public has not been made aware. The complete resolution must be read to the public, and/or posted before the meeting in the press and website. A motion must he requested and then all board members vote, and this whole procedure needs to be properly recorded in the minutes. Resolution 19-2012 is not legal, and needs to be nullified.
It appears the the Board may have been coerced into passing this resolution by Clean Growth Now, The Steuben County Landowners Coalition and the Joint Landowners Coalition, with support from the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency. These are pressure groups backed by the gas corporations and it appears that is exactly what they did to the Dansvillp town board. Several of the board members still profess that they are neutral on the fracking issue. However, this pro-fracking resolution belies their expressions of neutrality. The board can’t have it both ways.
At the August meeting when Michael Holler, a concerned resident, brought up the issue of this secretive decision to pra-frack, he was told by Mahany that they (he and Kenneth Rauber) are the “largest land owners” on the board, who also happen to be “very large taxpayers,” and this unilateral decision was made for pro-fracking, and regardless of how the bulk of the town residents felt, the decision was made, so “live with it.” His arrogance is appalling. Another concerned citizen suggested that since they have a biased view, they should have excused themselves from voting on the resolution, citing conflict of interest.
Beware, there is no democracy in the town of Dansville, Steuben County. At the Aug. 9 Town Board meeting, Robert Mahany acted as chairman in Michael Willis’s absence. He ran the meeting like a dictator would. He was very resentful of the large group of residents in attendance, who had huge concerns about the board passing a pro-fracking resolution without public knowledge.
This happened at the June 14, meeting, and was done without disclosure to the public. Apparently, at the May 10 meeting, while in executive session for a personnel matter, the board discussed a “Profracking Resolution” forwarded to them by the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency (copies of this letter and proposed resolution were forwarded to nearly all the towns in the county).
The Dansville board apparently discussed this in executive session, and decided to pass it in June in a secretive manner. Under the Open Meetings Law this is an illegal procedure and therefore nullifies this resolution. Under New York State Town Law it is illegal to act on a resolution in executive session that the public has not been made aware. The complete resolution must be read to the public, and/or posted before the meeting in the press and website. A motion must he requested and then all board members vote, and this whole procedure needs to be properly recorded in the minutes. Resolution 19-2012 is not legal, and needs to be nullified.
It appears the the Board may have been coerced into passing this resolution by Clean Growth Now, The Steuben County Landowners Coalition and the Joint Landowners Coalition, with support from the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency. These are pressure groups backed by the gas corporations and it appears that is exactly what they did to the Dansvillp town board. Several of the board members still profess that they are neutral on the fracking issue. However, this pro-fracking resolution belies their expressions of neutrality. The board can’t have it both ways.
At the August meeting when Michael Holler, a concerned resident, brought up the issue of this secretive decision to pra-frack, he was told by Mahany that they (he and Kenneth Rauber) are the “largest land owners” on the board, who also happen to be “very large taxpayers,” and this unilateral decision was made for pro-fracking, and regardless of how the bulk of the town residents felt, the decision was made, so “live with it.” His arrogance is appalling. Another concerned citizen suggested that since they have a biased view, they should have excused themselves from voting on the resolution, citing conflict of interest.
Two other resolutions were proposed. Michael Holler proposed that the board uphold individual property rights and oppose the gas corporations use of compulsory integration to exploit property rights. The other proposed resolution was from Priscilla Howe who requested that the Board beef up the illegal dumping rules, by stiffening the fines and penalties for the illegal dumping of hydrofracking waste, both cuttings and slurry, anywhere in the township. Neither one of these resolitions were given any attention.
The town of Dansville, Steuben County, residents are all now at the mercy of the huge gas companies thanks to five men on the town board who think they are the only ones who have rights because of the amount of taxes they pay. Incidentally, the highest property tayes are paid by businesses and corporations (commercial), then residences, then agriculture, then forest/swamp landowners. Besides that, agricultural landowners get U.S. government financial help for their fallow land, for their flooded crops, for their drought affected crops and to help with their equipment purchases. If you are just an ordinary resident/citizen ot the township, do you get government help? I think not.
An editorial in the July 11, Democrat and Chronicle warned of this very situation. It warned that “in many Southern Tier communities, elected officials are landowners who could potentially benefit from signing (gas) leases. Critics are crying conflict of interest. Residents need to be secure their elected representatives are voting for the public good rather than their own.”
On Nov. 6, Election Day, residents of the Town of Dansville, Steuben County, will have the opportunity to voice their choice on a proposition which will be on the ballot. The proposition proposes to extend some of the town positions to four year terms, from the present two year terms.
Think twice about how you vote! Two years may be long enough to put up with elected officials who think their own good comes before the “public good.” After all, they are supposed to work for us, not their own personal need or greed.
So, beware, elected representatives, your power may be short lived. You do not control our right to vote. In the United States, New York state and the town of Dansville, Steuben County, government is by the consent of the governed. That’s how it works in a true democracy, the power is with the people (residents) and like it or not, we do still have the power of the First Amendment.
Priscilla Howe is a resident of Dansville, Steuben County.
