NEW BERLIN – A mere handful of people attended the Town of New Berlin Board meeting held Nov. 12 and business as usual was the tenor of the evening's proceedings.
Although the board members effortlessly worked though the bullet-point agenda, including a proposal to renew a largely contested contract with the Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corporation (UVAC), public reaction to the results of the meeting were cries of foul and frustration.
“We simply dealt with issues that have been on the table for some time. There were no surprises,” said Town of New Berlin Supervisor Ross Iannello.
Residents who attended the meeting were quiet and no one spoke during public comment for or against any items that were passed. Included in the evening's business was the resolution to adopt an 18 month contract with UVAC at a yearly cost of $50,000 – an increase to the town of 10,000 annually.
Bob Starr, Town of New Berlin supervisor elect, was a part of the small audience. He addressed the board as they were about to enter executive session. “I know when I was on the school board, we allowed future members to sit in on executive sessions for informational purposes which would allow an incoming member to know what they're dealing with. Are you going to allow that here?” asked Starr.
“What we're dealing with tonight is nothing real exotic. It involves an employee that may be terminated. I don't think it's necessary as we are discussing a personnel issue and the lawsuit we'll be discussing involves a updating a codes thing ... I feel with there being a personnel issue involved, I don't want to,” said Iannello. As a result the board unanimously agreed to meet in private
Concern surrounding the outcome of meeting, specifically the adoption of a contract with UVAC to be the exclusive emergency patient transporter for New Berlin, spilled over into public online forums on Wednesday. One comment on The Evening Sun's ‘30 Seconds’ column suggested actions taken by the outgoing Iannello and current board members was “a slap in the face” to the community. Many others say it was irresponsible for the outgoing town supervisor to extend another contract with UVAC for another year and a half, since Starr won the election for supervisor at a rate of more than three to one.
Superintendent Iannello has spent the past 16 years as Town of New Berlin supervisor and will step down to Bob Starr on Jan. 1.
When asked for comment regarding his position on the outcome of the vote, Starr said “I'm not sure what we can do at the moment; but when I take office on January 1, I will deal with the matter according to how the people of the Town of New Berlin have expressed they would like me to do so, legally.”
Starr added, “I understand the frustration of the people, but we'll get though this situation one way or another.”