FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: William J. McTyguePhone: (518) 588-2176 billmctygue@aol.com

Saratoga Springs, NYJune 17, 2015

The Absurdity ContinuesFor city taxpayers, its time to put and end to the City Council sideshow

The recent open letter issued by the Department of Public Safety and signed by four members of the City Council is further evidence why changes are needed on the makeup of our City Council.

The sponsors of this letter are simply setting the stage for what will likely and ultimately be bad news for the city and double bad news for the taxpayer. Even in the face of two ongoing state investigations, the decision by four members of the City Council to now tell the New York State Comptroller and the Attorney Generals Office to promptly hurry along with their investigations, so as it wont interfere with their attempt to be re-elected, brings a new level of drama and absurdity to the current City Councils way of doing business.

This open letter is nothing more than an attempt by the embattled Commissioners to divert attention a lay blame for their own indiscretions and bad decisions. Beginning with Public Safetys land swap deal gone bad and coupled the problems caused by the current Commissioner of Public Works malfeasance in granting nearly $900,000 in water connection fees without City Council authorization. All at the expense of the City taxpayer.

Public Works Commissioner Skip Sciroccos involvement in questionable transactions over the past several years runs deep. I am running for elective office but not for the reasons implied by their open letter. Im seeking election to the City Council as Commissioner of Public Works to put an end to the back-room deals and the tactics of playing favorites among city contractors and builders. Such policies have plagued this administration from the very start, with literally one secret deal after another. First there was the current DPW commissioners behind-the-scenes attempt in 2009 to sell city water to new subdivisions in the Town of Wilton without our City Councils knowledge. That error in judgment was followed in 2012 by his singular decision to grant hundreds of thousands of $s in water connection fee waivers without Council authorization.

After spending the last several months trying to blame others for his indiscretions related to the great-give-a-way in water connection fees, the Commissioner of Public Works is now desperate to blame others for his thoughtless decision to undersell a valuable city owned property, the Collamer Lot, by $625,000. Again, because of their actions the taxpayers of our city are the big losers.

When elected, I will work to restore fairness and integrity in the way city business is conducted both at the City Council table and by the Department of Public Works.

[END]