Resolution would bar county appointees from holding elected office

A bipartisan piece of legislation going before the Ulster County Legislature would bar appointed county employees, including those working for the Ulster County Board of Elections, from holding an elected position in town, village or city government.

Republican Minority Leader Ken Ronk, who sponsored the measure with Saugerties Democrat Joseph Maloney, said the ban would eliminate potential conflicts of interest and ensure that the loyalties of county employees aren’t compromised by their loyalty to their elected office.

“As a town official, you’ve got a fiduciary responsibility to the town. When you’re an appointee of county government, you have a fiduciary responsibility to the county and those (responsibilities) routinely come into conflict,” said Ronk, RWallkill.

Ronk said that because those potential conflicts aren’t clear, it is impossible to ensure appointed county employees are always acting in the county’s best interest, rather in the interest of the municipality, he or she is elected to serve.

As an example, Ronk said, a county employee who oversees grant or other municipal funding approvals could influence the process to direct funds to projects in their town.

“Those fiduciary conflicts happen behind closed doors,” Ronk said. “There’s no sunlight penetrating.

“The whole idea of ethics is the appearance of impropriety,” he added.

Under the county charter, elected county legislators

“As a town official, you’ve got a fiduciary responsibility to the town. When you’re an appointee of county government, you have a fiduciary responsibility to the county and those (responsibilities) routinely come into conflict.” — Ulster County Legislature Republican Minority Leader Ken Ronk

are prohibited from holding any other elected public office. However, Legislator Julius Collins, D-Ellenville, sits as both a county legislator and an elected member of the Ellenville School Board.

Ronk said the measure, which, if approved, would become a county policy, would also prohibit elected officials from working in the Board of Elections, which he said would protect the integrity of the election process.

“We really just need to make sure our elections are beyond reproach,” he said.

If adopted, the policy could affect Deputy Assistant County Executive Dan Torres, who serves as an assistant to County Executive Pat Ryan and as a New Paltz Town Board member and deputy supervisor.

The resolution will be considered later this month by the Legislature’s Laws and Rules, Governmental Services Committee.