Ken Runion on the Negative Attacks of Mark Grimm & Warren Redlich

Mark Grimm and Warren Redlich launched a website in my name which contains a number of negative attacks against me and others. Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich are masters at twisting facts and reporting on rumors and innuendo. Let's look at the true facts.

E-mails: Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich have a 13 second video clip on their site concerning the fact that I no longer accept their e-mails. The clip takes a very small portion of the conversation out of context. Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich have demonstrated that they are unscrupulous and untrustworthy by registering a web site in my name and posting negative, untrue, misleading and defamatory information on it. They are not beyond attempting to “hack” my computer. While they call me technologically deficient, I do know that e-mail poses the greatest risk to a computer being compromised on the internet. New viruses are introduced everyday which are not discovered by virus checkers and for the most part viruses are placed on computers through e-mail. In addition, e-mail can be spoofed and the content changed at will by the recipient. I cannot subject my computer to risk to their many deceptive practices, quotes out of context and other nefarious deeds, including posting personal information on web sites.

Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich may communicate with me by visiting my office, calling on the telephone or writing through the U.S. mail.

Spending & Taxes: Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich claim that spending increased by $10 million between 1999-2007 and they point to the State Comptroller's Report. Spending did increase for a very simple reason.

When I became Supervisor in 2000, I inherited a deteriorating infrastructure from my predecessors. The Town was under a consent order from the Dept. of Environmental Conservation to upgrade a sewer plant that was substandard, undersized for our population, and discharging untreated water into the streams during periods of heavy usage.

In addition, I inherited a water plant that failed to produce drinking water that met federal drinking water standards.

During my term as Supervisor, both the sewer plant and water plant were upgraded to meet all government standards and regulations. The cost of those two plant upgrades exceeded $11 million. The State Comptroller Report contains the cost of those two capital projects. In fact, since 1999, general operating expenses decreased according to the report. This is despite the fact that the town's share of retirement contributions to the state went from zero in 1999 to $1.4 million in 2007. Insurance premiums went from $125,000 in 1999 to $560,000 in 2007. Health Insurance contributions also doubled between 1999 and 2007.

As for taxes, Grimm and Redlich claim that the town tax went up 4% and some fees increased by up to 20%. The town tax is the lowest in the county. Our town tax rate in 2008 was 25 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value. In 2009, the rate is 26 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value. Thus, the tax went up one cent per thousand dollars of assessed value. For the typical homeowner, this is less than $2 of the total tax bill. To use percentages rather than actual figures creates an illusion which Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich are noted for.

Fees have not been raised in more than 6 years. Most fee increases dealt with building permits which are paid by the land developers. Fees for a car load of trash taken to the town landfill went up $1. Again, because the town fees are so low, Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich attempt to get people excited by talking illusory percentages rather than actual dollar amounts. It should be noted that Mr. Redlich voted for the budget. Mr. Grimm voted against it because he thought a non-profit entity was not going to be funded in the budget.

Of course, over the last 14 months, Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich have made a number of unfounded claims against public officials. These have had to be investigated and outside attorneys hired to report on the allegations. The cost to the town taxpayers of the investigations based on the unfounded allegations of Mr. Redlich and Mr. Grimm probably exceeds the 4% tax increase they complain about.

Sales Tax: Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich state that I have made inconsistent statements on sales tax revenue. This is incorrect and I believe my statements concerning sales tax revenue have been entirely consistent based on information available at the time the statements were made. Let me explain.

We produce the town budget in September of each year and it is adopted in the first week of November. In planning the budget, I always look at what the town has received in sales tax from the prior year and compare it to the current year. In 2008, the town received over $10.4 million in sales tax. Anticipating that the economy was flat in September, I budgeted for a little over $10 million in sales tax to be received in 2009, $400,000 less than what we had received in 2008. At the budget meeting Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich asked if I felt we would meet the sales tax projections. Based on the data available the first week in November 2008, I thought we would.

After the budget was adopted November 6, 2008, the economy went into a serious downward spiral. The stock market crashed at the end of November and large companies began to go into bankruptcy in December. As a result of these warning signs, I began to re-work the 2009 budget figures. I required all departments to curtail spending. I instituted a hiring freeze and any new positions created under the 2009 budget were placed on hold.

In January 2009, we received our quarterly sales tax payment from the county. In comparing the January 2008 payment to the January 2009 payment, we saw that the economy was much worse than what was expected at the end of October 2008. At that point (January 2009), I re-adjusted the 2009 budget to reflect revenues of $9.7 million from sales tax rather than the $10 million anticipated in November. My next step was to balance the budget based on anticipating less sales tax revenue.

During January and February, 2009, I re-negotiated contracts with the unions to reduce over-time expenses and labor costs which is approximately 60% of the town budget. I also forced departments to reduce costs for supplies and equipment. Based on the steps that I have taken to date, the town will save $400,000 during the 2009 budget year. This will balance the 2009 budget.

I believe Mr. Grimm's and Mr. Redlich's confusion is due to their basic lack of understanding of town government and the budget process. Unfortunately neither, Mr. Grimm nor Mr. Redlich, is willing to learn. Their constant focus since being elected has been attacks on public officials.

Assessments: Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich still claim that assessments are unfair. Again the facts show otherwise.

1. Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich have been on the town board for 14 months and have not made one proposal for change. Why, because the process is controlled by the State.

2. Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich have been the liasons to the assessor for the last 14 months, yet they have not met with the assessor during that 14 month period.

3. Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich benefited from the 2005 re-valuation process. Mr. Grimm saw his taxes decrease substantially as a result of the re-valuation and Mr. Redlich saw his taxes decrease slightly as a result thereof. All of the other members of the town board saw their taxes increase. In fact, Mr. Redlich profited from the re-valuation process. He came to Town Hall on grievance day and passed out his business card to anyone who would take it. He represented several clients in the grievance process.

Community Caregivers: I really don't understand what Mr. Grimm's and Mr. Redlich's complaint is on this issue. The Community Caregivers is a not-for-profit corporation which provides volunteer services to seniors. Town funding for this group is based on a fee for service rendered to town residents. In November 2008, I had a concern that the town was not doing enough to reach our home bound seniors, and that we were not receiving enough statistical information from the Caregivers on the services provided directly to Guilderland seniors and the cost thereof.

The day after the budget was adopted, I spoke to the Executive Director of Community Caregivers about funding. Based upon my conversation with Diane Cameron, Executive Director of Community Caregivers, I realized that what was really needed was more accountability from her agency. We needed more information on the actual services being provided by Community Caregivers that are not being provided by the town for our senior population. Diane Cameron and I discussed statistical information and forms she would provide to the town.

During November 2008, not February 2009 as alleged by Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich, I assured the Community Caregivers that the town would continue its arrangement with the agency. This was not the result of public pressure as alleged by Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich. It was the result of mutual cooperation between the town and the Caregivers and due to the services they can provide that the town is incapable of providing at a reasonable cost.

In a recent article in the Altamont Enterprise, Diane Cameron is quoted as saying that she had never been afraid the Caregivers would lose its funding. "I have to credit Ken with that," she said. "He really gets it; he gets the needs of the seniors."

Interestingly, the proposed budget for 2009 was delivered to Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich the last week in September, 2008. Neither Mr. Grimm nor Mr. Redlich raised any issues with respect to the funding of the Community Caregivers until the 2009 budget hearing held on November 6, 2008. Mr. Grimm advised the Board that evening that his spouse was a volunteer with the organization and he requested that their funding be increased by 3%. At that late date, it was too late to modify the budget without holding an additional public hearing. The Caregivers money was available in a different contractual line within the budget, but Mr. Grimm either didn't understand, was confused or didn't take the time to ask. This just shows that if Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich would start doing the job they were elected to do, rather than attacking public officials, misunderstandings could be averted.

Murley Matter: This was a matter which was handled before Mr. Grimm or Mr. Redlich were elected to the Town Board. Two years ago, a department head came to me and raised some serious allegations against the former Chief of Police. The following day, I placed him on administrative leave so that the allegations could be properly investigated. There was no inaction as alleged by Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich. After a brief investigation, the town filed disciplinary charges and the former Chief of Police resigned.

As the town did not have the ability to investigate the criminal issues, I immediately sought the help of the State Police and the Albany County District Attorney's Office. This was not a simple matter. The State Police and District Attorney investigation took two years to complete. Justice has been served, the former Chief of Police lost his job, and the case is closed.

Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich claim that the former Chief of Police received his pension. Pensions are protected by the New York State Constitution and cannot be taken away or denied by the Town. Mr. Redlich is supposed to be a lawyer, and should know better than making such an unfounded allegation.

I am confused as to why Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich are bringing Debra Murley into this matter. She had nothing to do with the conduct of the former Chief of Police. To me, it is distasteful for Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich to attack her for the actions of a family member.

Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich have also posted the personal information and deposition about one of the victims in the Murley case. Our town policies call for us to maintain the confidentiality of victims. Unfortunately, Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich do not abide by town rules, regulations or policies, i.e. operating a business out of his home without town permits, representing clients in town court. What Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich have done is to make every person in Town Hall fearful and unwilling to file a complaint in the future out of concern that personal information will be released to the public.

Csaposs Matter: During the last 14 months, Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich have accused a number of town employees of wrongdoing. The town has spent countless hours and been required to hire outside attorneys to investigate their baseless claims. They seem to go after an employee if they question Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich in any manner. Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich accused Mr. Csaposs of writing a three sentence post to the Albany Times Union Blog on town time. They even went so far as to file a complaint with the District Attorney's Office.

Mr. Grimm's and Mr. Redlich's complaint against Mr. Csaposs was thoroughly investigated and found to be without merit. The investigation revealed that Mr. Csaposs posted the blog from his home on his lunch break and not during town time.

Open Government: Mr. Redlich and Mr. Grimm claim I abruptly adjourned a town board meeting. This was due to the poor conduct of Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich. As I recall, Mr. Redlich and Mr. Grimm attacked several people who came to speak at the public comment period. An hour had passed and we were unable to get to the first agenda item. This wasn't the first meeting that this type of conduct was displayed by Mr. Redlich and Mr. Grimm. As it was apparent we were not going to accomplish anything, I adjourned the meeting.

There is no police review board as alleged by Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich. Board members serve as liaisons to various town departments. There is no requirement that there be town board liaisons to any department. The liaisons to the police department are Pat Slavick and Paul Pastore. They meet regularly with the departments they have been assigned to. They have earned such positions due to their hard work on the Town Board and their dedication to the Town.

On the other hand, neither Mr. Grimm nor Mr. Redlich have met with one of the departments they are assigned to as liaisons since taking office 14 months ago.

Conclusion: I hope that I have adequately answered the claims made by Mr. Redlich and Mr. Grimm. I do hope that Mr. Grimm and Mr. Redlich will eventually begin to do the job they were elected to do and are being paid over $20,000 per year each to perform. To date, they have, in my opinion, wasted thousands of dollars in taxpayer money filing false charges and complaints. There actions do nothing more than create unnecessary liability and exposure to the town and its residents.

For more information about my experience, qualifications and accomplishments, please visit
www.TheRealKenRunion.com and www.GuilderlandTownTopics.com