County must turn over probe records, whistleblower tips
The decision affirms that the comptroller’s office is entitled to access confidential and personnel records of the county.
KINGSTON — Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger has until 4 p.m. on Friday to give County Comptroller March Gallagher whistleblower tips as well as the report from the county’s investigation into former Finance Commissioner Burt Gulnick, a state Supreme Court justice ruled Tuesday.
In October, Gallagher sued Metzger and Ulster County over her administration’s failure to turn over calls made to the county’s corporate compliance hotline, as well as a countyfunded investigation into Gulnick, who resigned in March amid embezzlement accusations unrelated to his county job. Gallagher sought those materials as part of her ongoing investigation into Gulnick, who pleaded guilty to grand larceny in October for stealing funds from the Hurley Recreation Association and former County Executive Mike Hein’s re-election campaign. He was the treasurer for both organizations.
Those accusations — along with Gulnick’s personal debt, alleged lack of separation of duties, alleged modification of timecards, a potentially inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and an unauthorized bank account — had prompted then-county Executive Pat Ryan to order an investigation into Gulnick’s financial and workplace behavior, conducted by the county’s outside counsel, Roemer Wallens Gold & Mineaux LLP. That investigation concluded in January of 2022.
For the past 2 1⁄2 years, Gallagher’s office has undertaken its own parallel investigation of Gulnick. As part of that investigation, Gallagher sought the results of the Roemer Wallens inquiry as well as tips made to the county’s corporate compliance hotline from Jan. 1, 2019, to the present date. She cited the county charter, which gives her office the power to “examine, audit, and verify all books, records, and accounts kept by the administrative units, offices and officials paid from county funds, institutions and other agencies of the county … and for this purpose have access to all such books, records, and accounts at any time except where precluded by law.”
But Metzger refused to turn over the records, calling Gallagher’s request an “overreach” and saying she was making “disingenuous claims” about the information she requested, specifically that supplying all report forms from the corporate compliance hotline risks identifying whistleblowers.
She added that Gallagher’s lawsuit, filed after Metzger refused to comply with a subpoena to turn over the records, “sets a dangerous precedent to provide unfettered access by an elected official to information about whistleblowers and employees’ private information. I will never stand in the way of government transparency, but this is about checks and balances to prevent governmental overreach and ensure proper procedures are followed.”
State Supreme Court Justice Richard Mott ruled otherwise.
In his ruling, Mott said Gallagher’s request “falls squarely within the board authority vested in the comptroller,” in part because the documents are relevant to her investigation and because she is not seeking them for public disclosure.
“By the clear language of Section C-57(H) (of the county charter), the comptroller is empowered to require the production of books, papers and other evidence which are ‘deemed necessary to such … investigations,’” Mott wrote.
The decision affirms that the comptroller’s office is entitled to access confidential and personnel records of the county.
Afterward, Gallagher praised the ruling as a win for transparency.
“I am relieved by and pleased with the opinion of Justice Mott which found that the comptroller’s office has the capacity to compel the production of records even if those records are confidential or personnel-related,” she said in a statement, adding: “We look forward to finishing our work on this matter and providing taxpayers some assurances that the elected comptroller’s office is here to work with the county executive and the County Legislature to improve internal controls and protect taxpayer resources.”
In a statement Tuesday night, Metzger said she appreciated “the clarity” the ruling provided “with respect to the authority and obligations of the Ulster County comptroller.”
“I especially appreciate Justice Mott’s requirement that any investigation protects the confidentiality of employees and whistleblowers,” she said. “I look forward to working with Comptroller Gallagher to ensure that Ulster County government is efficient, transparent and responsive to the people we serve.”