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MINUTES Town of Greenburgh Board of Ethics Thursday, July 23, 2020 Zoom Video-Conference Board Members Present: Doris Friedman, Tim Hays, Trudy Holand, David Schwartz, Blase Spinozzi Counsel Present: Joseph Malara, Volunteer Counsel Meeting convened at 5:06 p.m. A quorum was present. The Chair welcomed the Board and members of the public. Prior to the motion to adopt the agenda, Chair Spinozzi called the Board’s attention to Greenburgh Board of Ethics Internal Rules and Regulations, Section 4 (j), “A public comment period may be scheduled on the agenda. Public comment is subject to the necessary rule of avoiding excessive repetition, obstructionism or personal attacks.” Chair Spinozzi went on to say that since this board has been subjected to all of the above for the past seven months, and Public Comment has been used as an opportunity for the public to insult the members of the board, to cast aspersions on the integrity of the board, repeated demeaning remarks by way of acerbic comments about the board, and in one instance a perceived ethnic insult directed toward a member of the board; despite this, the board has managed to do what it has been appointed to do.However, with the approval of all the members of the board, we have removed Public Comments from the agenda, and they will remain removed until such time that we can be assured that Public Comments will be used to guide the board in the work it’s been assigned to do, and not an opportunity to continue to demoralize this panel.” Motion to adopt amended agenda unanimously carried. Motion to accept minutes of June 25, 2020 meeting unanimously carried. Ethics Training: Mr. Hays had no information to report on Ethics Training at this time. Financial Disclosure Form: Mr. Hays reported filings by board and agency members, 37 out of 50 (74%); employees and elected officials, 49 out of 51 (96%). The filing date has been extended due to the pandemic. The Board thanked David Fried for his efforts to reach out to those who have not filed their Financial Disclosure Forms.The Board is cognizant that many people have been denied access to their offices due to the pandemic, and appreciates the efforts of Mr. Fried to use his resources to send reminders through the U.S. Mail. Opinion 2020-1. It had been brought to the Board’s attention the absence of Opinion 2020-1. Upon investigation, the Board discovered that Opinion 2019-2, while it was accepted by the board sitting in 2019, but could not be voted on until 2020 when a quorum was present, was incorrectly numbered. The Board unanimously agreed to correct the error and rename Opinion 2019-2 as Opinion 2020-1. Correspondence: The Board is in receipt of four emails from Mr. Samis, as well as a new Citizen Complaint filed against Councilman Jones. The board had no comment on Mr. Samis’s email. Further, inasmuch as Mr. Samis’s new Citizen Complaint against Councilman Jones was received only a few hours prior to the meeting’s commencement, the Chair informed Mr. Samis that we did not have time to review it, and that it will be placed on the agenda at the next meeting of the BOE. The Board is in receipt of correspondence from Mr. Murray Bodin relative to his Citizen Complaint against Councilman Sheehan. The Board deferred comment, to be taken up during the discussion of Mr. Bodin’s complaint later in the meeting. Citizen Complaint re Bodin v Sheehan. The Board discussed the complaint brought by Mr. Bodin against Councilman Sheehan. Several Board members were unclear as to what Mr. Bodin is alleging as wrongdoing by Mr. Sheehan. The Board asked Mr. Bodin to please advise the Board in writing specifically what section (s) of the Code of Conduct he is alleging Mr. Sheehan violated, and a more detailed scenario as to how Mr. Sheehan violated said section(s) of the Code. Next Meeting: The Chair called the Board’s attention to Section 4 of the Internal Rules & Regulations of the Board of Ethics, which states, in part, “…it is not required to schedule meetings in the month of August and December.” The Board scheduled its next meeting at 5:00 p.m., Thursday, September 24, 2020, to be conducted by way of Zoom Videoconference. Meeting adjourned at 5:22 p.m. Submitted by: Trudy Holand, Secretary