Prior to today, no less than 3 emails entitled “Updated
Public Safety Agenda” were sent out by our Clerk of the Board. The first two were dated Wednesday, March
29th and Thursday, March 30th. On
examination, no appreciable difference, on either date, was found by me with
respect to this grant. Basically, they
said the same thing about the proposal. The 3rd email was received on Monday,
April 3rd. It also was exactly the same
as was previously provided. If you go to www.alleganyco.com and check the calendar,
view the agenda for Public Safety on 4/5/17, it will tell you the same thing.
Copied below, is the Memorandum of Explanation that I
read. It is the reason I wrote the
letter I wrote to the Patriot. There is
no mention of a $25,000 grant. There is
no mention of an October 24, 2016 meeting. You will clearly see that “This is a
New Grant Fund Program” is checked on the form.
Although the Sheriff failed to sign the memorandum, as the documentation
provided originated from his office, it is my belief that he reviewed and
approved the memorandum.
Interestingly, the Sheriff provided a copy of the Resolution
in question. Had he given me or my peers the courtesy of a copy of that
resolution – in the multiple emails previously mentioned – I would have made
the connection.
I am not the Wizard of OZ, a clairvoyant or a mind reader. I
call things the way I see them. What did
the Sheriff leave out of his bombastic missive?
That I was unsure. I said so in
my letter and followed it up with emails to the County Administrator, Board
Chairman and Chair of Public Safety.
Something wasn’t quite right and it caused me to check and double check
my records. I was up against three obstacles that no one can overcome late on a
Sunday evening. Intro Numbers,
Resolution Numbers and a publication deadline.
That feeling, that something wasn’t quite right, was
discovered Monday morning in correspondence I had with County Administrator Tim
Boyde. The “something” was that I forgot
that Just because a resolution has an “Intro Number” doesn’t mean that it’s
going to have the same number as a resolution number. The main problem with that? Right up to the
day we vote on the resolution every attempt is made to provide you information
about the legislation. After it’s
adopted it fades into the county records.
No index or search engine of resolution numbers or titles is provided to
us. Is one available? That’s a good
question and one I will find out the answer to.
Surprisingly, the Sheriff unwittingly gave you an example of
what I’m talking about. The resolution
he attached has an “Intro Number” and a “Resolution Number too. You will also
note that the “Resolution Number” was penned in either during the board meeting
or shortly thereafter. Follow the 258-16
number he provides and it will take you down a rabbit hole.
What else did the Sheriff leave out? That when this was originally proposed last
fall I voted in favor of the measure. He conveniently left out – so you could
not see them – the names of the legislators voting Yea or Nay. Although initially skeptical of accepting
another Gateway Grant and concerned about the distribution of weaponry favoring
the Sheriff’s Office – which has no Road Patrol - and not the larger departments like
Wellsville, Alfred and Cuba, my fears were assuaged by the support the measure
had from the local Police Departments present. The majority was there, in force
and I felt they should be given support in this regard.
Did I “Jump the Gun” to report untrue facts? Did I “once again” engage in some nefarious
plot to discredit the Sheriff or the Sheriff’s Office? Sorry Sheriff, but you are out in left field
on both counts. How much do I make as a
County Legislator? $8,500.00 a year.
Period. For ethical reasons I do not
charge the taxpayers mileage so that I can come and go from work. I do not have a secretary, no county vehicle
is assigned to me, I have no uniform allowance, nor a county issued cell phone.
Other than my rather public desk in the
board chambers, I have no official office provided to me by the taxpayers. I
don’t take Thursdays off to golf.
Outside of the county issued IPad/laptop I have very little in my
possession that belongs to the County.
I base my observations and what I relate about those
observations on what I actually see and hear.
You did – once again – a terrible job in communicating with the people
you should try and communicate with in the best way possible. If I related information that was inaccurate,
false or misleading you provided the weapon of your own demise. This is not the first Rodeo you and I have
had over this type of issue. You refuse
– I heard you – to discuss things with us before you drop the bulldozer blade
down and decide that, that’s the way it’s got to be. No matter anyone else’s opinion. I strongly
recommend you come down off of your imperial perch, eat a little humble pie –
just as I am willing to do – and work with the legislature.
By the way. What
happened to the $45,000 grant for the Drug K-9, License Plate Reader and
Drone? It’s the first of April – keep
your word Sheriff.
Respectfully submitted,
Karl Graves, Legislator. District 4
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