Court: Let Hire Work For County
Michael Rizzo on Nov 08 2008 at 1:45 pm | Filed under: General
BY KEVIN LENIHAN * POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL * NOVEMBER 8, 2008
A New York appellate court has upheld the decision of the Supreme Court, Dutchess County, ordering County Executive William Steinhaus to put the assistant to the Legislature chairman on the payroll.
New York State Supreme Court Judge James V. Brands had ordered Steinhaus to put Assistant to the Chairman Fred Knapp on the payroll back in April.
The original lawsuit was filed in March against Steinhaus after the county executive denied placement of Knapp on the payroll due to the freeze. Steinhaus issued a hiring freeze in December, citing concerns a state budget shortfall could affect the 2008 county budget.
The appellate court said in its decision, issued Wednesday, Steinhaus had the authority to temporarily freeze hiring, but he “ran afoul” of the county charter by attempting to use discretionary power that he does not have to abolish positions.
“The Supreme Court thus properly granted the petition to compel the county executive to take such steps as are necessary to add Knapp to the county payroll in the position of assistant to the chairman of the County Legislature,” the court decision said…
An automatic stay is in place while Steinhaus decides whether or not to appeal the decision to the state Court of Appeals. He has 30 days to decide.
Dutchess County Legislature Chairman Roger Higgins, D-New Hamburg, said the legal battles to date have wasted tax dollars unnecessarily.
“I hope that we now can move on and tackle the serious budget issues facing the county,” Higgins said. “We need to put petty partisanship behind us and serve the taxpayers.”
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