BEWARE: THE GOVERNMENT YOU GET
IS THE GOVERNMENT YOU DESERVE!

We can say many of these issues are the problems of the people involved in the incidents, but we should all abhor this behavior by government and our supervisor solely on the ethical and moral questions brought by these issues.

But, if that doesn't get your attention, I'll give you a few more reasons.

This immoral and unethical behavior reflects on us and our town. It opens the town to expensive litigation. People who have worked hard for many years to build a career serving our community are damaged and hurt. Philosophically, we are all responsible, if we refuse to acknowledge this wrong doing; we are also as guilty as those who commit these violations.

A number of women employees of the town have complained of sexual harassment by their department supervisor; the harassment was on going and not isolated incidents. The matter was brought to Mr. Depew, who dealt with it by siding with the department head, and suggesting that the women had made the wrong career choice.

Can you imagine how you would feel if it was your daughter. Hard working, well trained, police professionals are difficult to come by, but when those police professionals are women, and there is an issue of sexual harassment, why is the only option or comment about their career choice. We live in the year 2013; we should not expect this in the private sector which is more difficult to control, but this behavior is unconscionable in the Public Sector.

There can be no loyalty to town department heads that can justify Mr. Depew's transgression in these matters. And, to the town's detriment, law suits have already been filed relative to these events.

Civil Service Law

Most of America has lost any type of job security because they didn't resist the Global Trade Treaties, or sided with the theories of Supply Side Economics; they rejected the hard won gains fought for by the union movement with the blood of the labor force at the time, and have adopted an everyone for him/herself attitude toward employment and jobs, which has given greedy employers the upper hand in labor negotiations and hiring practices. At will employees can be fired with little or no recourse, no matter how good their work record is. So, in the Public Sector, we have Civil Service Law.

As far as Mr. Depew is concerned, Civil Service Law does not exist, or is subject to his manipulation with the help of political allies at the Orange County Civil Service Department. Because of his cavalier attitude toward Civil Service Law and his lawless treatment of our town's employees, promotion lists are manipulated, administrative hearings are venues for lies and deception, and long time valued employees are coerced and abused.

Illegal Enforcement

Making a mistake is not a violation of the law, and who among us doesn't make mistakes. Mistakes should not be treated as crimes, violations or infractions, and we must ensure that they are not. Innocent mistakes that have no impact on others, no property damage and do not threaten the health or welfare of others should be treated as the simple mistakes that they are. The Town of Wallkill should issue a clear directive to the Town of Wallkill Police Department and any other law enforcement agency operating in our town, to not prey on and victimize citizens for the sake of providing a revenue stream via the courts to the town or to Albany.

On one day in May during one session of the Town of Wallkill Traffic Court, $34,500 was extorted from residents and visitors to the town mostly for minor traffic infractions.

Our citizens must be protected from the Cuomo Highway Tax imposed by NYS Police Officers and the Wallkill Driving and Parking Tax imposed by political operatives given Parking Enforcement jobs to supporters for their political loyalty.

Finally, people entering the Town of Wallkill Court MUST BE TREATED WITH RESPECT AND COUTEOSY, and any employee treating our respondents any other way should not have a job In the Town of Wallkill courts any more.

Omission, Deception and Fraud

What do we expect the legal obligations to be of those who swear an oath of office to serve our community? Do we expect them to leave out important information about their business associates?

— Public officials should not use their office to front for their employers on massive public works projects that will primarily benefit their bosses.

— Public officials should not advance development projects for employers or business partners to provide infrastructure for massive, community-altering projects with devastating tax consequences, while hiding the nature and extent of a project from the public. Nor, is it ethical to segment a project, and feign ignorance of the full extent of the community disruption that would be caused by what is hidden.

KJ WEST is looming on our boarders and on the horizon, because of just such actions by Mr. Depew, his associates and Mr. Lamm.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHY WE NEED A DEVELOPER REGISTRY. We must prevent this from ever happening again.

We also need to prevent local governments from declaring lead agency in SEQRA proceedings when members of those public bodies stand to profit from the projects they are supposed to review. No one with even a remote business interest in a project should be trusted to safeguard the public interest.

Is it even possible to safeguard the public interest when one stands to profit from a project?