Friends, neighbors, and fellow Trojans,
On Thursday evening, the council will hold another round of committee meetings to discuss a range of topics. This includes a public hearing on the proposed policy for the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPR).
Additionally, we will approve changes to the city's towing policy, an issue spearheaded by Councilmember Greg Campbell-Cohen. This includes implementing a “three strikes” rule for towing vehicles parked in violation of weekly street cleaning rules. All other violations that require an immediate towing of a vehicle—blocking fire hydrants, roads, driveways, or other public safety-related emergencies—remain in effect. This is a common sense proposal that will save residents hundreds of dollars, something that’s critically important as many families struggle with skyrocketing prices for groceries, gas, and other basic needs.
We’ll also be introducing a proposed local law to regulate the use of emergency declarations by the mayor. These have been abused by the administration to spend taxpayer money with zero oversight, and the council is committed to restoring checks and balances at city hall.
There are several resolutions pending our consideration, including declaring Pride Season in Troy, and recognizing the life and contributions of former city budget director Owen Goldfarb.
A full list of meeting times and agenda items is available for public review on the city website: https://troyny.gov/AgendaCenter
LDC Board Appointments
During a recent meeting of the Troy Local Development Corporation (TLDC), the board amended its bylaws to allow the appointment of the city’s Director of Operations, Joe Mazzariello, to serve in place of the long-vacant planning commissioner seat. The city has been without a planning commissioner for more than 18 months. Instead of finding someone to fill this critical position leading the planning department, the mayor decided to have one of her political appointees with no relevant experience or background a seat on the LDC board instead.
I continue to raise concerns over how Troy’s economic development bodies have been turned into vehicles for the mayor’s political agenda, often rushing through unnecessary projects like the controversial relocation of City Hall. We need qualified individuals with relevant experience serving in these positions, not the entire mayor’s office staff.
Mayor Creates New Job for Political Operative
We recently learned the mayor has created a new position, Deputy Director of Operations, within the mayor’s office. This $80,000 job was created to hire Sara McDermott, another one of the mayor’s close political allies who is member of Troy’s Republican Committee and first cousin of deputy mayor Seamus Donnelly.
We will closely scrutinize this new position and the administration’s decision-making process. Taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent, and that the people hired to serve this city are qualified to hold these jobs.
Onward,
Sue Steele
Council President