To the editor:
At the September 14th Chester Town Board meeting, I proposed a couple changes to the code on the Ethics Board. I proposed that it meets four times a year to discuss policies and code changes to prevent ethics violations proactively. This was something that had majority support from my colleagues on the Town Board.
The second proposal I had was to remove the Town Board as a middle man in the process of a resident or town employee/official making an ethics violation complaint to the Ethics Board. The code states that when a complaint is made, it first travels through the Town Board who, according to my colleagues on the board, then decides whether or not it is legitimate enough to be investigated by the Ethics Board. I am not saying anyone currently on the Town Board would do so, but this process gives plenty of opportunity for conflict of interests to become a factor. If a Town Board member doesn’t like the complainant, knows the person accused of a violation personally, and/or for any other unjust reason could vote to deny the complaint getting through to the Ethics Board.
The most accountable, transparent, and fair way to have a complaint submitted would be directly to the Ethics Board. My colleagues stated at the last board meeting that my proposal could cause a “power struggle” and could cause an influx of “frivolous” complaints to overload the Ethics Board, among other things. I believe it’s not for us to decide which complaints are “frivolous” and I believe in the ability of the members of the Ethics Board to be responsible with their role, members that the Town Board appointed ourselves. Please make your voice heard and comment at the next Town Board meeting during public comment before I put my proposals up for a formal vote.
Brandon Holdridge
Chester Town Councilman
bholdridge@thetownofchester.org
845-699-0161