By Phil Blackwell
Richard Cushman is no longer the deputy supervisor of the town of Cicero.
By a 3-2 vote, the Cicero Town Board eliminated the deputy supervisor position at its Sept. 9 meeting, with the majority stating multiple concerns about how Cushman, in their opinion, was exceeding his authority.
Councilor Michael Becallo proposed the change and was joined by Judy Boyke and Jonathan Karp in favoring this change, with Supervisor Bill Meyer and Councilor Nancy White opposed.
Section 42 of New York Consolidated Laws for towns allows a town supervisor to appoint a deputy supervisor that would carry out the roles of a supervisor in case the position was vacant or there was physical incapacity.
Cushman was appointed as deputy supervisor by Meyer in December 2019. Becallo, citing those codes, said that at various times in recent months Cushman had taken on responsibilities normally designated to elected Town Board members.
“The position [of deputy supervisor] should have a clearly defined role,” he said.
Karp, in explaining his position, said that Cushman was handling duties normally reserved for board members, including negotiations with other town departments.
“There are more and more things going on without the board being informed and we’re being shut out of things,” said Karp, who added his opposition to Cushman was a matter of good government, and not personality.
Boyke, a former town supervisor, said that “transparency has been lost,” partially due to the town’s continued COVID-19 state of emergency, which has prevented in-person board meetings since March.
One of the examples several board members stated for their vote was having Cushman participate in budgetary discussions with the fire departments in the town.
Meyer defended that move, saying Cushman had helped fire departments with past budget issues and needed that experience especially with a new town comptroller, Elke Johanns, on hand.
While the deputy supervisor is vacant effective immediately, town attorney Robert Germain said that, based on New York Municipal Home Law Section 23, such a move could be subject to a referendum since it might curtail the power of an elected official.
Karp told the Star-Review on Sept. 10 that the town attorney determined a referendum is not necessary after all.
Also on the agenda
By contrast, the town board was unanimous in approving a new plan of medical benefits for retired town employees.
Switching from Excellus, the town now wants to use Medicare Advantage for this service, similar to what was done in the adjacent town of Clay. White cited numbers which stated that going to Medicare Advantage would save individuals more than 50 percent in both copays and payments per month.
“It will save everyone a lot of money,” said White.
With the town’s trash removal contract set to expire in 2021, the board approved a seeking of bids for a new contract with a preference of keeping the current service of a driver and thrower as opposed to standardized carts.
Karp said that, based on studying what other towns did, it was more expensive to go to an automated system, adding on to concerns about how much tipping fees from the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency might increase when it releases its budget figures next month.
