Petty Tyrants

Small towns often have a handful of tinpot dictators. Turns out the Town of Bovina has a few, as the town needs to make "a determination" as to whether it will deign to provide information that is a matter of public record. Robin Yess explains:

I may have mentioned previously that some members of the Liberty Coalition have agreed to send FOIL requests to collect information regarding the dollar amount of the many paychecks received by Langdon Chapman, Orange County resident and Counsel to the Ulster County Legislature at a salary of $49,750. For those who don’t know, Langdon holds many different positions representing other municipalities – on top of being a staff member of the New York State Senate for an annual salary of $96,500.04 (see this older post).

I am pleased to report that the Town of Mamakating responded expeditiously to a FOIL request sent by me with a comprehensive report showing total compensation paid for services rendered by Langdon Chapman (check paid to Bonacic, Krahulik & Associates) was $38,778.45, between February 3, 2010 through May 5, 2012. Looks as if Chapman/Bonacic et al receives $1,327.35 for each time Chapman appears at a Planning Board meeting.

We asked all other municipalities where Langdon is either an employee or representative of a contracted firm for complete salary or payment information. Unfortunately, the Town of Bovina Center was not so accommodating (see letter below) as they have informed our FOIL requester that “A determination on whether to grant or deny in whole or in part will be made on or before May 29, 2012.”

Click through to read the letter.

It really is mind-boggling just how petty some towns can be. For Bovina, it's almost as if they might have something to hide. Seriously. "How much are you paying your town attorney?" is a question that should be readily answered.

And it looks as if Langdon Chapman is doing quite nicely for himself, what with all of these hefty paychecks from the taxpayer. I love how some small-government Republicans talk about cutting back on waste and slashing bloated budgets, while at the same time they collect lucrative salaries on the taxpayers dime. Chapman and his boss, Senator Bonacic, certainly talk the talk. But when it comes to walking the walk, they have their hands in our pockets just like the rest of them.

Hypocrites.