COLONIE TOWN BOARD MEMBER CALLS ON FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS TO WITHDRAW CUNNINGHAM AND BURICK APPOINTMENT
January 6, 2010
Colonie Town Board member Dan Dustin has called on fellow Town Board members to withdraw the appointment of Jack Cunningham as Colonie’s Public Works Commissioner and Michael Burick as Colonie’s Civil Service Commissioner pending a public, bi-partisan search for qualified candidates.
Reacting to the January 6, 2010, Times Union article “Ex-Bethlehem Supervisor Lands Job Running Public Works Department in Colonie,” Dustin is urging his colleagues on the Town Board to work together and establish a transparent, bi-partisan search committee for qualified candidates that reside in the Town. “There was absolutely no public process for the selection of these two appointees” said Dustin. “The fact that I learned of these appointments through an article in the newspaper is very troubling to me as a Town Board member” he added.
In conjunction with the lack of public input, Dustin finds issue with the outsourcing of a high paying Town position to non resident, Jack Cunningham. “The position of Public’s Works Commissioner pays over $100,000 per year, why would we choose to pay someone, qualified or not, with Town money that will not go back into supporting the businesses or tax base of the Town?” “As a community working to get out of debt, shouldn’t we look to keep that money here?”
Another source of concern for Dustin is Burick’s lack of experience and heavy involvement in Supervisor Mahan’s campaign last fall. The January 6, Times Union article quotes Supervisor Mahan saying “He has a good background that would lend itself to coming in and learning this position” regarding the appointment of Burick. “The Town’s Commissioner of Civil Service position should not entail on-the-job training which raises serious questions about Burick’s appointment.”
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