.
Feedback

Arrogance on Display in Clarkstown

Supervisor Gromacks' Ugly and derogatory demeanor on display with a Public scolding of a Senior Citizen at the last town board meeting

 

An utter disgrace best describes the behavior of Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack at last week's Town Board Meeting. Taking the position as he so often does in describing himself  in the vein of, a” Career Politicians job “is a noble profession. Then once again diminishing that value and using his throne of authoritarian power to publicly scold, denigrate and demonize an elderly citizen, whose only crime was in expressing his disgust over all the high salaries and benefits, the Town Board is giving to all the unions and themselves.

This senior citizen, believes he can no longer afford to live in a community that is intent on making this town only affordable to the town employees who are over compensated for their jobs.  Higher Taxes and debt seem to be an attempt  to achieve the number one spot for highest taxed town in the country. Supervisor Gromack’s description of Police salaries as being “obscene” and placing blame on his predecessor is true, but he continues on with this obscenity, while trying his best to hide it.

Town Board meetings are in constant violation in the spirit of the N. Y. State Open Meetings Law. Deliberately hiding PBA and CSEA contract settlements in non descript language added to agenda items at the very last minute. This is done in an attempt to avoid public comment. Continuing  these violations as they often do with a lack of transparency by having no public deliberations on any subject item.

They all then display a public epiphany and vote Yes in rapid fire on every spending initiative. The recent hiring of 8 or what they will not say yet is 10 more police officers is a career politicians Jedi mind trick to make you believe by hiring these officers will be a cost savings over the already overly obscene salaries the retiring officers are paid. We have an average officers salary for 2012 at $179,688.55 an increase of $25,476 for each one over 2011, What do you surmise 2013 will  bring? 

Certainly the pensions for each of these recent retirees will be approaching $200,000 for one person. These new hires with a little overtime and guaranteed benefits will achieve six figure salary payouts in their first year or two. These claimed savings will only be an anomoly for a very short period of time. Don't be fooled by their one sided statistics.

Keep listening and believing the Jedi mind tricks and you to, will be taxed out of your home. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Gromack Decree will be to even eliminate the " Public Comment " from Town Board Meetings. We know now the kitchen is getting to hot for him and exposing his arrogant displays of emotion at the expense of indefensible senior citizens, coupled with the desire for absolute power this Supervisor is intent  on achieving, will ultimately corrupt us all. Dictatorships should never be tolerated in a republic. 

I would urge all interested citizens to witness for their own edification, come out for the next Town Board Meeting on March 7th at 8pm, Town Hall, Maple Ave.                                                                                                                   

 

Frank Grandel  ( President / Clarkstown Taxpayers )                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from New City Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Loading comments ...
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Kathleen May 21, 2013 at 08:55 am
CANDLE Night at the Rockland Boulders Game Join CANDLE for a fun(d)raising game on May 23rd as theRead More Rockland Boulders take on the Trois-Rivieres Aigles. Proceeds from tickets purchased through CANDLE* will support programs that educate & empower youth and reduce substance abuse and violence in Rockland County and beyond.
Heywood Jablohme May 21, 2013 at 02:48 pm
I agree with most of your points, but surely you are not implying that teachers are expected toRead More produce funding to correct school roofs, right? I think you got a bit off topic here, but I agree that our educational infrastructure is in disrepair and is in desperate need of rehabilitation. Maybe if our teacher's unions allowed a little more leeway we could allocate funding a little more appropriately and fund the important things instead of overpaying paying dinosaur teachers who lost interest a long time ago and fight any and all forms of teacher benchmarking.
WGMom May 20, 2013 at 09:10 am
It's entirely true that every professional has out-of-pocket expenses. But as someone who worked asRead More a corporate trainer, I can guarantee you I NEVER had to pay out of pocket expenses for supplies to teach classes. Every piece of paper, supply, and even snacks for the participants were fully covered expenses. If I had to spend out of pocket money to procure supplies, I could submit for a reimbursement, and receive it, no questions asked. I am now in school to become a high school teacher and I can see the stark difference in how the education of folks in a corporate environment is incredibly different, and privileged, than the public school environment. I've sat through numerous classes in the Clarkstown and Ramapo districts, doing observations required for my education certification, and while Clarkstown certainly benefits from certain advantages, the shabbiness of being a public school is still there. Furniture, such as teacher desks, that looks like it was purchased in a garage sale 30 years ago... faculty bathrooms that are dark and dingy, nearly crumbling, and sorely in need of updating. Etc. The public expects teachers to have professional training, act professionally, but they lack sometimes basic resources and are expected to function in an environment that feels more like a dungeon than an institution of learning. The citizens of Clarkstown, if they could get a tour of some of the facilities they are expecting children to learn in, and teachers to teach in, would be very surprised. We do supply some great technology, but then we put it in classrooms with windows that won't stay closed when it's windy, as one example. I spent most of my time in South, which is the best of the bunch, facilities-wise. Clarkstown North is a mess, Woodglen's woods are littered with fallen trees no one's cleaned up after Sandy, Laurel Plains had to be shuttered thanks to that whole foul stench... the district is in a situation where there are major capital improvements that are going to be needed. Buildings are aging, and it seems it's only the most basic of upkeep that happens. The district can't even fix the roofs of the buildings without applying for a state grant.
Heywood Jablohme May 18, 2013 at 07:17 am
What professional doesn't spend $500 per year on out of pocket expenses related to their jobs?Read More Staples offering 10% (or 5 in some cases) is hardly an example of the community getting involved. Thankfully, there are other examples of the community and PTA's getting involved and providing needed services. Clarkstown and surrounding areas hardly have substantial unmet needs in their classroom, thankfully.
Truth4all May 16, 2013 at 11:37 am
I guess better late than never. LaCorte is serving his 4th year as Mayor and was Trustee for I thinkRead More 4 years before that. This year is the only time he has brought the idea to the village about participating in this program. He is motivated by the opportunity of getting positive press for his County Executive campaign. The village should have been involved in this program ( as well as the Americorps program) long before this. On a positive note, hopefully the Village will continue this worthwhile partnership for many years to come.