Legal Bill Leads To Heated Discussion

MILLERTON — How and why did the village rack up attorney’s fees for more than $4,000 with a lawyer originally hired to specifically help the Planning Board get through the SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) process? That was the question being asked by the Village Board at its meeting Tuesday night.

The question arose after charges were reviewed from a bill submitted by Planning Board counsel Jennifer Van Tuyl, of Cuddy & Feder LLP. Van Tuyl was hired to help with the environmental review process for the proposed Millerton Overlook project, a 20-unit affordable housing complex that, if approved, will be at the intersection of routes 22 and 44.

"The village has its own attorney," Trustee Anne Veteran said. "The Village Board did not agree to hire this woman. Four-thousand dollars is a huge amount of our budget."

"This is the first we’ve seen of the bill," added Deputy Mayor John Scutieri, who was as surprised as the other trustees to find out that the Village Board was being billed for Van Tuyl’s services.

"This bill says it was about how to replace our chairman [of the Planning Board]," Veteran said, directing her complaint toward Mayor Michael Cawley, who spent time discussing village business with Van Tuyl, on the village’s dime. "She was hired to help the Planning Board do SEQRA. I want to know how we, though it wasn’t even the board, Mike, how you, drove up this bill?"

"I believe what happened with me, is that we have a legal budget, some goes to Kevin [Thiemann, attorney to the village] and some does not. The lady pointed out a problem. She asked if I wanted to check it out," Cawley said.

"You did that without coming to the board," Veteran said. "What do we do with this bill now?"

"Pay it," was Cawley’s reply.

"I’m not going to pay it," Veteran said. "I’m not going to spend taxpayers’ money — $4,000 out of our little budget is a lot of money."

According to Thiemann, municipalities have the ability to set financial caps on what their leaders, for example a mayor, are authorized to spend. The board members discussed what Cawley’s cap was, and while some said they thought it was $5,000, Thiemann said he would look into it to be sure.

Meanwhile, former Planning Board Chairwoman Cathy Fenn, who was in the audience at the Village Board meeting, asked why the money was spent at all on outside advice.

"Regardless of what the mayor is allowed to spend, for years I’ve said the zoning law is antiquated, so why ask Jennifer Van Tuyl?" Fenn asked.

"I did not ask her, she asked me," Cawley replied. "She pointed out to me [the weak points in our procedures].

"We were facing a very large project and a very involved project and we had her work," the mayor said, referring to the Millerton Overlook project. "It’s a cumulative effort."

"It’s irresponsible for people to think they can hop on the phone and the other side is not going ching, ching, ching," Veteran said.

Scutieri suggested the mayor review the bill and talk to Van Tuyl about the charges. Veteran agreed that something needs to be done.

"The village is facing a $4,200 bill from an attorney that the board did not approve," she said. "To rack up a $4,200 bill is inexcusable and insane with our little budget."

"Why don’t we turn this around," Dave Shufelt, a local resident, said. "She initiated it, but she should never have looked into it for $4,200. If she was going to spend that money she should have said so. Find out the facts of what happened."

The board agreed and chose not to pay the bill until the matter was clarified.