Keeping track of how your money is spent

The wool gets pulled over my eyes every time a Chenango County government body goes into an executive session, and it’s happened dozens of times over the past four years I’ve reported for The Evening Sun.

On many other occasions, a committee chairman or department director has asked for my indulgence on matters discussed during the regular meeting, particularly when they involve personnel. I always oblige. An unelected employee’s personal life is really nobody’s business.

Unfortunately, my agreeable nature has not always led officials to, in turn, indulge me with honest reasons for going into executive session. In the case of labor negotiations or lawsuits, they never tell me what the subject matter is or who the complainants are, unless I first ask. Sometimes, especially if the county’s attorney is in the room, they actually refuse to elaborate. What’s worse, there have been times when the executive session ended, but I’ve not made it back into the room in time to hear the subject of a resulting vote.

Two recent and unsuccessful Freedom of Information requests I’ve made regarding labor negotiations and legal issues discussed in executive session leave me thinking I’m not ever really going to get to tell you where all of your county tax dollars were spent last year. The thing is, I find it alarming that surplus dropped from $16 to $12 million since the beginning of 2007, and I figured you might, too.

I FOILed the county in November to try to find out how much was spent on labor contracts, labor negotiations and lawsuits in 2007. At least, that’s what I thought I was asking. I received the contract and arbitration costs of one union instead of the three that were settled last year ($450,000 for the Law Enforcement Association, retroactively to 2005), a printout of payments to a negotiator ($4,500) and the amount paid to arbitration lawyers representing the county in lawsuits last year, some of which regarded labor unions ($40,700).

I did not receive negotiation costs of the Sheriff’s Employees Association, Inc., which split off from the Law Enforcement Association last year. The response regarding my FOIL request indicated said review would be completed within 30 days and that I “would be advised accordingly.” That never happened.