By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

Members of the Cicero Town Board were split on a last-minute addition to the agenda at the Feb. 10 town board meeting. Councilors Judy Boyke and Mike Becallo questioned a resolution reestablishing the position of deputy town supervisor, which the board voted to abolish back in September 2020.

Boyke said she felt she was being pressured to vote on the deputy supervisor issue. She said she wanted more discussion and advice from the town attorney.

Becallo said Cicero residents should get to vote on whether the deputy supervisor position should be reestablished.

“We discussed putting this on a referendum for the next election, giving residents an opportunity to vote on this position being on the town board,” Becallo said. “I frankly don’t know why we’re putting it on this evening. I don’t know what the rush is.”

Becallo said the town code already allows the town board to vote to appoint an acting supervisor if needed.

Councilor Jon Karp, who made the motion for the resolution, said he would support putting the issue to a referendum but felt the matter was urgent because of the pandemic.

Councilor Nancy White agreed, adding that the deputy supervisor would have the authority to sign checks if the town supervisor were unavailable.

“We are still in the middle of a pandemic and there’s no guarantee that someone’s not going to come down with this. I think this is a smart move and we should go forward,” she said.

Supervisor Bill Meyer compared having a deputy supervisor to having multiple town justices or a deputy town clerk.

“It’s simple good government and it’s a no-cost item,” he said.

Becallo and Boyke, however, pressed their colleagues for the “real reason” for the motion.

“What’s the real reason for doing this tonight?” Becallo asked.

Karp explained that the board learned in December that New York State’s Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act, commonly known as the Taylor Law, requires a municipality’s chief executive officer — in this case, the town supervisor — to sign union contracts. Last year, Karp and Meyer disagreed over the authority of the team appointed to negotiate with the Cicero Police Benevolent Association.

“The supervisor set forth some concerns that he had and also some wishes that he had, and he also takes the position that we [the town board] did not have the authority to abolish the position of deputy supervisor — which I disagree with him on, but that’s moot at this point,” Karp said.

Karp said Meyer asked to reestablish the position of deputy supervisor. Since Meyer needs to sign the police contract, Karp said he found this a “reasonable compromise.”

“Good government and good politics requires compromise,” he said.

“The supervisor is refusing to sign any contract unless his wishes are met, so take that for what it’s worth,” Becallo said.

“That’s your characterization,” Karp said.

The resolution passed, with Meyer, Karp and White voting yes; Becallo and Boyke voted no.