The executive session that the Cambria Town Board had planned for its meeting to select an interim supervisor could potentially violate the New York State Open Meetings Law.
After the Aug. 14 resignation announcement of Supervisor Jon T. MacSwan, Cambria scheduled a town board meeting for 7 p.m. Thursday to discuss candidates for interim supervisor in an executive session, with voting set to happen on the meeting floor without public discussion.
Following a Union Sun & Journal article announcing the meeting and process, the New York State Coalition For Open Government, Inc. sent an email Monday to the town board, urging it “to conduct all discussions regarding the supervisor vacancy in public.”
The email, signed by Paul W. Wolf, an attorney and president emeritus of the New York Coalition for Open Government, said, “The New York State Committee on Open Government and court decisions have held that addressing vacant elected positions must occur in public, not behind closed doors. In Gordon v. Monticello, the Sullivan County Supreme Court in 1994 rejected the argument that the Open Meetings Law allows a municipal board to use executive sessions when filling a vacant elected office. This decision was appealed and upheld by the Appellate Division.”
Abe Platt, Cambria’s town attorney, did not respond to a request for comment. Randy Roberts, the town’s deputy supervisor, could not be reached for comment and does not have voice mail.
Roberts told this reporter last week that the board would convene the meeting and immediately go into executive session.
Roberts declined to name any candidates for the role. He said the board will come out of executive session on Thursday, ask for a motion for an appointee, and then vote.
The interim supervisor would fill the position from Sept. 1 until the next election in November 2026.
Councilman Jeffrey S. Hurtgam said in a phone interview Tuesday that he wasn’t aware of how the meeting would proceed.
“We’ve never had an executive session during a regular meeting before,” he said.
Hurtgam said the board has received some resumes of individuals interested in the interim supervisor role. He said only a few people have the qualifications needed.
“Each of us individually have decided who we think are qualified,” he said of councilmen. “They will only be there for two years, and we need someone who can get us through that.”