Time to compromise
It’s time to end the childish tactics and bickering that have engulfed the position of town attorney.
The ongoing saga surrounding Jessica Bacal’s employment as town attorney has taken up too much of the town’s time — and it is embarrassing for all parties involved. Both the town officials seeking to oust Ms. Bacal from the position and Ms. Bacal herself need to reach some accord so the town can put this behind it and concentrate on more important and pressing matters. And they need to do so in a way that does not compromise town laws or alter them for future generations in a shortsighted attempt simply to settle this issue.
Both sides share responsibility in creating this problem. The appointment of Ms. Bacal reeked of politics and cronyism from the beginning. She finished her eighth and final year as a Town Board member the day before a new Republican administration took office. Soon thereafter, Edward Mahoney, the newly elected town supervisor, and his fellow Republican board members paved the way for Ms. Bacal, a Republican, to continue working for the town in a capacity that would ultimately guarantee her a pension and, more importantly, the highly sought-after 100% health benefits for life — at the cost of the taxpayer, of course. At a January 2006 meeting, they changed the position of attorney for the town, a consulting position with no benefits that had been in place for a decade, to town attorney — an office that guarantees full benefits. Later that night, they appointed Ms. Bacal, a lawyer by trade, to that position. The appointment angered Allen Hershkowitz, then the lone Democrat on the Town Board, to such an extent that it led to his resignation only a couple of months later.
But the makeup of the board greatly changed in 2008, as Democrats gained the majority of board seats, including the position of town supervisor, and the remaining Republican members held an allegiance to a new Lewisboro Republican hierarchy that had broken away from previous party leaders — and their ties to Ms. Bacal. Almost immediately after taking office, new Town Supervisor Edward Brancati set in motion actions to try to unseat Ms. Bacal, sending out requests for proposals from law firms to possibly replace all town legal positions including town attorney.
Both administrations made a major mistake, though, in their handling of the position. In 2006, the board failed to make Ms. Bacal’s service continuous from her time on the Town Board to when she took over as town attorney. It was only a four-week gap, but enough to negate her eligibility for lifetime full benefits, according to town law. Two years later, Mr. Brancati made the mistake of not indicating the length of the term when he made a resolution to re-appoint Ms. Bacal as town attorney. His intention was that her appointment would be on a month-to-month basis. But Ms. Bacal countered that once the board appointed her, state law required the term to be two years. The Town Board then responded by rescinding a motion it had made only two months earlier that would have eliminated the gap in her service and made her eligible for the pension. The last move came in March, when Mr. Brancati demanded that Ms. Bacal work out of the Town House on a full-time basis and solely on town affairs, and abandon her private practice and Katonah office.
Since the battle is now at an apparent stalemate, the hope is both sides will come to their senses, drop their petty arguments and be willing to make some concessions to resolve the issue for good. And the compromise should not come at a cost to the taxpayer, say, through a contract buyout or some other financial settlement, or by altering sound town regulations solely to negate foolish previous actions and avert future embarrassment. It is time to put the egos and selfish wants aside and return to real town business.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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