Leg vs. Vanderhoef
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- May
- 14
The battle continues… Dum, dum DUM!
Okay, not it’s not that bad. But there has been a running theme this year of the Legislature complaining that County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef has been less than forthcoming with information, something his office says just isn’t true.
Last month, at the April 30 Government Operations Committee meeting Legislator Ed Day, R-New City, asked Hospitals Commissioner Richard Maloney for a detailed breakdown of how much overtime pay is included in the department’s payroll figures.
At last night’s Multi-Services Committee meeting, Day again asked Maloney about the figures and Maloney replied that he’d gotten the numbers to the county executive’s office two days after the request was made.
So Day, visibly miffed, questioned Vanderhoef staffer Vince Altieri who told him he’d have to check and get back to him.
Other legislators, including Jay Hood Jr., D-Haverstraw, Philip Soskin, D-Monsey and Alden Wolfe, D-Suffern, said they were disappointed that the county’s administration had shared so little with them regarding the construction of the new hospital and nursing home. Soskin said he’s gotten most of his information about the project from media reports.
The Legislature, earlier this month, also accused Vanderhoef of not communicating effectively with them when his office requested approval for a $24 million bond related to the Mirant tax dispute. Vanderhoef countered that the Legislature knew about the issue because it was discussed at a 2006 meeting.
C.J. Miller, spokeswoman for the county executive, said yesterday that claims the Legislature can’t get information on finances are bogus. The Legislature’s fiscal analyst has access to the same numbers as the administration’s finance personnel.
“That information is open and accessible to everyone,” she said
As to the rest of the complaints, Miller said Vanderhoef’s office isn’t trying to hide anything or play games with the legislators.
“Maybe communication isn’t the problem here,” she said. “Maybe it’s a lack of understanding … a lack of comprehension.”
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 5:07 pm by Sarah Netter. 
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