Mayor faces ethics questions

Written by Mark Lungariello

Thursday, 02 September 2010 13:31

Borrowed town-owned cart for private use

Mayor Joan Walsh (D) has found herself in a bit of a bunker after she borrowed a town-owned golf cart for private use last month. The mayor contends there was nothing controversial about her use of the vehicle, while others believe borrowing the cart was an ethical violation that broke Harrison’s employee policy.

The mayor used an electric cart similar to those used on a golf course when she hosted a three-day family reunion at her West Harrison home on the weekend beginning Aug. 6. Walsh told The Harrison Report this week that she sought to use the town-owned cart to buggy around a 93-year-old uncle and others in her family with limited mobility. “It was all for the benefit of my elderly relatives,” she stated. “We do this every five years; it’s an important family occasion so those who could not walk could be part of the festivities.”

A major issue with private use of town-owned vehicles is the liability aspect, opening up the possibility that if someone were injured using the town vehicle, Harrison could have been on the hook for damages. Walsh said she contacted her insurance agency prior to her family reunion and took out extra insurance on her private policy when she borrowed the vehicle. “[My agent] said he’d take care of it,” she told us. She also stated that she secured permission ahead of time and complied with the direction of the Department of Public Works (DPW), limiting operation of the cart to one driver and storing the vehicle in an enclosed garage overnight or when otherwise not in-use. DPW Superintendent Anthony Robinson did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The Town Code of Ethics prohibits the use of municipal-owned vehicles, equipment, materials or property for personal convenience, except when such services are available to the public generally or provided as a municipal policy for the use by an employee on official town business.

Town Attorney Frank P. Allegretti, reached for comment this week, did not believe there was a gray area in interpretation of the code, feeling there hadn’t been a precedent in borrowing or renting one of the electricity-powered vehicles. “Our electric carts, or any town equipment for that matter are not allowed to be utilized for the personal convenience of any officer or employee as a matter of policy,” he stated. “Nor are they rented out to anyone for that purpose.”

Allegretti said that if the mayor obtained permission, it would have had to be done officially. “Town Board approval would have been necessary and this request was never made prior to the use of the town-owned vehicle,” he said. “No Town Board resolution exists authorizing such use, so I am not quite sure how the mayor secured permission.”

Though she said borrowing the cart may have been out of the ordinary, Walsh contends it is not unprecedented in Harrison’s history. According to the mayor, the town has lent out items such as tents to private citizens hosting large parties in the past. Records of those incidents are not kept, though, and Walsh said Harrison did not set a fee or protocol for when items are utilized for private means. The mayor placed an item on the Town Board agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting, in which she intends to donate $200 for the three-day use of the cart.

According to a town employee who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity, several working for Harrison viewed the situation as official misconduct. The cart is one of three rarely used by the town and when the Department of Public Works was contacted, it was not operational, the source said. Public Works employees were said to have had to replace a battery on the cart, though the mayor said she was unaware of any vehicle restoration that took place. Two town employees then had to drive the cart, with a maximum speed of about 15 mph, from the department garage to Walsh’s residence several miles away. The employees then needed to pick it up when it was no longer needed. If the use of the vehicle by the mayor is ethical, then any town resident should be equally entitled to rent the cart for their private use in return for a $200 donation and have it delivered to their home, the source hypothesized.

The source added the labor unions did not see the matter as actionable, but several employees contacted the local police department and even the county district attorney to look into the matter. Harrison Police Department officials said they could not verify if there was an active investigation or not, and the mayor and Town Legal Department said they were unaware of any official inquiry into the situation.

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