How should STOP DWI monies be spent?
NORWICH – How Chenango County decides to spend the approximately $120,000 in revenues collected annually from drunk driving convictions came under intense scrutiny Wednesday at a meeting of the Safety & Rules Committee.
Town of Plymouth Supervisor Jerry L. Kreiner pointed to a number of discrepancies and potential legal violations in the distribution, a process which involves the Chenango County Traffic Safety Board, Stop DWI coordinator and the committee.
Plymouth’s request in August 2008 for $800 per year for a software maintenance program - which they say prevents court cases from falling through the cracks - was denied in November. The request first went before the Traffic Safety Board, where members voted to deny it, then to Stop DWI Coordinator Jan Miles, who presented the same recommendation to Safety & Rules.
Safety & Rules is charged with monitoring Stop DWI’s budget and making resolutions for the use of funds to the county’s Finance Committee. Finance would then have the option of forwarding any decision it makes onto the full Chenango County Board of Supervisors.
Reading from Board of Supervisors’ minutes going back to 1968 when the Traffic Safety Board was created and again in 1981 when the Stop DWI program was established, Kreiner said his findings verify that the board has no authority to legislate the spending of drunk driving revenues. He further told the committee that Stop DWI’s charter mandates that its coordinator not be in law enforcement. The fact that some of the Traffic Safety Board’s 15 members are retired and current police officers represents a conflict of interest, he said.
“They (board members) shouldn’t be voting on requests,” said Kreiner. “It’s this committee’s job to determine where the money is spent, not the Traffic Safety Board’s to hold votes.”
Kreiner also said he was not notified within a reasonable amount of time to appear before the board to present Plymouth’s request (a step in the process that he questioned) and, when he attended a second meeting, was surprised to find that business was conducted at a restaurant.
“These meetings should be held in the County Office Building to make it easier to get information. They should be public,” he said.
The Town of Plymouth has “no vendetta, no sour grapes” against the Traffic Safety Board or Stop DWI program, the supervisor said. He said the software maintenance package requested was eventually purchased, anyway, with town funds. His concern, he said, is that 100 percent of the fines generated by the municipal courts are returned to the county as Stop DWI funds, but those funds are not being distributed back to the towns appropriately.
Kreiner said his research found “many issues that ought to be straightened out,” including board minutes that were difficult to obtain; board minutes that had been revised to omit funding for a computer for the Probation Department; overdue department budgets; $2,000 in Stop DWI revenues that were used for Chenango County Drug Court graduation ceremonies, including catering and engraved watches for graduates; a Norwich Firefighter’s fireworks display paid for with revenues; and reimbursements for a trip to a Drug Court event in Buffalo that the county’s public defender took.
Kreiner read aloud to the committee from the Stop DWI charter that specifies revenues to be used only for law enforcement, prosecution, adjudication and education.
“There are some situations here that really need to be addressed,” he said. “I think it’s horrid that we paid for a public offender to attend an event.”
In answer to Kreiner’s accusations, Committee Chairman Alton B. Doyle said there would be “no way” all 21 townships in the county could annually receive the amount of money ($16,800 a year) to have the maintenance program in question. All but four towns currently have the New York State CourtRoom electronic tracking system.
Supervisor David C. Law, R-Norwich, suggested that the board meet in the County Office Building and copy the committee on minutes like other subcommittees do.
Supervisor Janice O’Shea, R-Coventry, said it was her understanding that Stop DWI funds could be used for computers, but not for computer maintenance.
Town of Columbus Supervisor George G. Coates requested Kreiner’s accusations be submitted in written form for review at a later meeting of the committee. “I need it to better understand, and I’m sure there is another side of the story here,” he said.
Miles, who was present at the committee’s meeting, said she had been experiencing computer problems and was out of the office for a period of time due to an illness in the family. She said she had conducted her job in good faith and with no regrets.
“The funds requested for Drug Court graduation ceremonies were well worth any money spent to recognize the individuals for their hard work,” she said.
Miles said she depended upon the board to make recommendations to her. “I’m only a one person department. Why limit yourselves to one opinion? I need an overall view,” she said.
Traffic Safety Board Chairman Harold Ives said the board only provides advice to the Stop DWI coordinator. “We don’t legislate, nor do we intend to.”
Town of Plymouth Justice Paul O’Connor said, one of two municipal justices at the meeting, said he “respectfully disagreed” with Committee Chairman Doyle.
“You must afford to do this. The courts are responsible for collecting those fees and fines. People can’t afford to pay in one lump sum the money they owe. ... If the court doesn’t have the program that accurately tracks who owes what - accounts for funds - the money would not be coming back to Chenango County.”
Preston Justice Tom Hosford said townships would like “a piece of the pie” from Stop DWI funds.
“The program the municipalities have is a Cadillac program filled with criminal histories and a 24-hour support service. It’s a support program that gives all courts up-to-date histories on cases and background checks. The maintenance program is so important to keep the main program going. They (municipal courts) all need a little help, maybe not the full $800,” said Hosford.
Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride, also on hand at the meeting, is a two-year member of the Traffic Safety Board. He assured those in attendance that members pay for their own lunches during meetings except for the last meeting of the year, and said doing business over lunch was more convenient for him.
McBride said the computer program includes calendars that let him know every case. “There’s a very positive side to this (discussion of drunk driving revenue distribution), the updates and upgrades to the program help me prosecute.”
The CourtRoom Program® for New York State’s Town and Village Courts is an electronic docketing system designed to track every case from start to finish. It allows the court to immediately update the case with current adjournments, and assuring timely adjudication and reporting. An annual maintenance support program entitles users to telephone help, program updates and documentation updates during the year.
In the past, Safety & Rules has recommended appropriating Stop DWI revenues for patrol cars and patrol equipment for the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Norwich, the Village of Greene and the Town of Sherburne. Revenues have also been used for Sheriff’s patrol overtime, a camera for the New York State Police and to offset the cost for an assistant in the Chenangno County District Attorney’s Office. They are also used to purchase monthly radio and television advertising campaigns that promote safe driving, and to sponsor youth groups.
Town of Plymouth Supervisor Jerry L. Kreiner pointed to a number of discrepancies and potential legal violations in the distribution, a process which involves the Chenango County Traffic Safety Board, Stop DWI coordinator and the committee.
Plymouth’s request in August 2008 for $800 per year for a software maintenance program - which they say prevents court cases from falling through the cracks - was denied in November. The request first went before the Traffic Safety Board, where members voted to deny it, then to Stop DWI Coordinator Jan Miles, who presented the same recommendation to Safety & Rules.
Safety & Rules is charged with monitoring Stop DWI’s budget and making resolutions for the use of funds to the county’s Finance Committee. Finance would then have the option of forwarding any decision it makes onto the full Chenango County Board of Supervisors.
Reading from Board of Supervisors’ minutes going back to 1968 when the Traffic Safety Board was created and again in 1981 when the Stop DWI program was established, Kreiner said his findings verify that the board has no authority to legislate the spending of drunk driving revenues. He further told the committee that Stop DWI’s charter mandates that its coordinator not be in law enforcement. The fact that some of the Traffic Safety Board’s 15 members are retired and current police officers represents a conflict of interest, he said.
“They (board members) shouldn’t be voting on requests,” said Kreiner. “It’s this committee’s job to determine where the money is spent, not the Traffic Safety Board’s to hold votes.”
Kreiner also said he was not notified within a reasonable amount of time to appear before the board to present Plymouth’s request (a step in the process that he questioned) and, when he attended a second meeting, was surprised to find that business was conducted at a restaurant.
“These meetings should be held in the County Office Building to make it easier to get information. They should be public,” he said.
The Town of Plymouth has “no vendetta, no sour grapes” against the Traffic Safety Board or Stop DWI program, the supervisor said. He said the software maintenance package requested was eventually purchased, anyway, with town funds. His concern, he said, is that 100 percent of the fines generated by the municipal courts are returned to the county as Stop DWI funds, but those funds are not being distributed back to the towns appropriately.
Kreiner said his research found “many issues that ought to be straightened out,” including board minutes that were difficult to obtain; board minutes that had been revised to omit funding for a computer for the Probation Department; overdue department budgets; $2,000 in Stop DWI revenues that were used for Chenango County Drug Court graduation ceremonies, including catering and engraved watches for graduates; a Norwich Firefighter’s fireworks display paid for with revenues; and reimbursements for a trip to a Drug Court event in Buffalo that the county’s public defender took.
Kreiner read aloud to the committee from the Stop DWI charter that specifies revenues to be used only for law enforcement, prosecution, adjudication and education.
“There are some situations here that really need to be addressed,” he said. “I think it’s horrid that we paid for a public offender to attend an event.”
In answer to Kreiner’s accusations, Committee Chairman Alton B. Doyle said there would be “no way” all 21 townships in the county could annually receive the amount of money ($16,800 a year) to have the maintenance program in question. All but four towns currently have the New York State CourtRoom electronic tracking system.
Supervisor David C. Law, R-Norwich, suggested that the board meet in the County Office Building and copy the committee on minutes like other subcommittees do.
Supervisor Janice O’Shea, R-Coventry, said it was her understanding that Stop DWI funds could be used for computers, but not for computer maintenance.
Town of Columbus Supervisor George G. Coates requested Kreiner’s accusations be submitted in written form for review at a later meeting of the committee. “I need it to better understand, and I’m sure there is another side of the story here,” he said.
Miles, who was present at the committee’s meeting, said she had been experiencing computer problems and was out of the office for a period of time due to an illness in the family. She said she had conducted her job in good faith and with no regrets.
“The funds requested for Drug Court graduation ceremonies were well worth any money spent to recognize the individuals for their hard work,” she said.
Miles said she depended upon the board to make recommendations to her. “I’m only a one person department. Why limit yourselves to one opinion? I need an overall view,” she said.
Traffic Safety Board Chairman Harold Ives said the board only provides advice to the Stop DWI coordinator. “We don’t legislate, nor do we intend to.”
Town of Plymouth Justice Paul O’Connor said, one of two municipal justices at the meeting, said he “respectfully disagreed” with Committee Chairman Doyle.
“You must afford to do this. The courts are responsible for collecting those fees and fines. People can’t afford to pay in one lump sum the money they owe. ... If the court doesn’t have the program that accurately tracks who owes what - accounts for funds - the money would not be coming back to Chenango County.”
Preston Justice Tom Hosford said townships would like “a piece of the pie” from Stop DWI funds.
“The program the municipalities have is a Cadillac program filled with criminal histories and a 24-hour support service. It’s a support program that gives all courts up-to-date histories on cases and background checks. The maintenance program is so important to keep the main program going. They (municipal courts) all need a little help, maybe not the full $800,” said Hosford.
Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride, also on hand at the meeting, is a two-year member of the Traffic Safety Board. He assured those in attendance that members pay for their own lunches during meetings except for the last meeting of the year, and said doing business over lunch was more convenient for him.
McBride said the computer program includes calendars that let him know every case. “There’s a very positive side to this (discussion of drunk driving revenue distribution), the updates and upgrades to the program help me prosecute.”
The CourtRoom Program® for New York State’s Town and Village Courts is an electronic docketing system designed to track every case from start to finish. It allows the court to immediately update the case with current adjournments, and assuring timely adjudication and reporting. An annual maintenance support program entitles users to telephone help, program updates and documentation updates during the year.
In the past, Safety & Rules has recommended appropriating Stop DWI revenues for patrol cars and patrol equipment for the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Norwich, the Village of Greene and the Town of Sherburne. Revenues have also been used for Sheriff’s patrol overtime, a camera for the New York State Police and to offset the cost for an assistant in the Chenangno County District Attorney’s Office. They are also used to purchase monthly radio and television advertising campaigns that promote safe driving, and to sponsor youth groups.
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