It is the function and charter of State and Municipal Police to protect public safety.
However, when they moonlight for companies which are the greatest threat
to public safety (such as the gas+oil industry), then everything gets very confused.
This is when they start treating Grandmothers as terrorists, while the polluters go scott free.
http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20140312/NEWS01/303120043/Records-show-Broome-County-officials-disclosing-more-ethics-forms
Records show Broome County officials disclosing more in ethics forms
BINGHAMTON — Broome County’s elected officials have improved their compliance with financial disclosure rules following reforms, a review of records shows.
Top officials are required to file six-page personal financial disclosure forms with the Broome County Board of Ethics listing business positions, investments, real estate holdings and other details. The ethics board then reviews the forms to make sure they are filled out correctly.
In years past, those forms have contained errors and omissions, usually minor in nature, that left blind spots in the public’s knowledge of the financial interests of county officials.
To address the problem, the Broome County Legislature enacted a new ethics law in December 2012 that provided stricter deadlines for the ethics board’s review of the forms. The reformed law also outlawed gifts of any value to public officials.
In February 2013, following the enactment of the new law and an article in the Press & Sun-Bulletin detailing the reporting deficiencies, County Executive Debbie Preston unseated the three members of the Board of Ethics by appointing three new members.
A review of the financial disclosure forms filed by the county’s 19 elected officials last year, reflecting their 2012 finances, shows officials are paying closer attention to their reporting requirements.
• Several members of the legislature disclosed memberships in groups and organizations they hadn’t previously. For instance, county Legislator Jason Garnar, D-District 14, disclosed he is treasurer of his political campaign fund.
• While some Broome officials previously left lines blank under many questions, the practice has been curtailed. Officials now list “none” or “n/a” if they have no information in response to a question.
Legislature Chariman Jerry Marinich, R-District 10, credited efforts by the new ethics board for improvements in financial disclosure in the county.
Ethics board members are Town of Dickinson Supervisor Michael Marinaccio, Binghamton-based attorney Jon Sarra and accountant William Starring. Marinaccio and Sarra are Republicans; Starring is a Democrat.
Shortly after the new members were appointed, the board held a presentation before county officials to give instructions on how to fill the disclosure forms out.
“I think the ethics board we have now is making a real good effort in making sure the forms are concise and pertinent,” Marinich said.
On the 2013 financial disclosure statements, some of the county’s top officials also disclosed new outside employment positions, which they said they were not required to report in previous years.
On the forms, outside employment must be disclosed if it results in more than $1,000 in annual income.
Sheriff David Harder said he worked in a security position for Price Gregory International Inc., a Houston-based pipeline developer that helped install the Bluestone Pipeline in eastern Broome County.
Harder said the work involved driving back and forth along the pipeline in a personal vehicle and in plain clothes, and involved no county equipment or property.
“(I) drove from one end of the pipeline to the other end just to make sure nobody was monkeying with their equipment,” he said. “That was it. I took any spot that my deputies were not signing up for.”
Preston disclosed she was a sales representative for Avon. She said she didn’t report it in previous years because she did not meet the $1,000 threshold. She said that work was done off of county premises.
Preston called the reforms enacted in late 2012 and early 2013 “a step in the right direction.”
“The Code of Ethics is very important to me, which is why we pushed to reform the process,” she said. “Those reforms have spelled out exactly what information needs to be supplied, and people are getting acclimated to providing all the information the Board of Ethics is asking for, in the way they want it.”
However, when they moonlight for companies which are the greatest threat
to public safety (such as the gas+oil industry), then everything gets very confused.
This is when they start treating Grandmothers as terrorists, while the polluters go scott free.
See highlighted section below:
http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20140312/NEWS01/303120043/Records-show-Broome-County-officials-disclosing-more-ethics-forms
Records show Broome County officials disclosing more in ethics forms
4:09 PM, Mar 12, 2014
By Steve Reilly
BINGHAMTON — Broome County’s elected officials have improved their compliance with financial disclosure rules following reforms, a review of records shows.Top officials are required to file six-page personal financial disclosure forms with the Broome County Board of Ethics listing business positions, investments, real estate holdings and other details. The ethics board then reviews the forms to make sure they are filled out correctly.
In years past, those forms have contained errors and omissions, usually minor in nature, that left blind spots in the public’s knowledge of the financial interests of county officials.
To address the problem, the Broome County Legislature enacted a new ethics law in December 2012 that provided stricter deadlines for the ethics board’s review of the forms. The reformed law also outlawed gifts of any value to public officials.
In February 2013, following the enactment of the new law and an article in the Press & Sun-Bulletin detailing the reporting deficiencies, County Executive Debbie Preston unseated the three members of the Board of Ethics by appointing three new members.
A review of the financial disclosure forms filed by the county’s 19 elected officials last year, reflecting their 2012 finances, shows officials are paying closer attention to their reporting requirements.
• Several members of the legislature disclosed memberships in groups and organizations they hadn’t previously. For instance, county Legislator Jason Garnar, D-District 14, disclosed he is treasurer of his political campaign fund.
• While some Broome officials previously left lines blank under many questions, the practice has been curtailed. Officials now list “none” or “n/a” if they have no information in response to a question.
Legislature Chariman Jerry Marinich, R-District 10, credited efforts by the new ethics board for improvements in financial disclosure in the county.
Ethics board members are Town of Dickinson Supervisor Michael Marinaccio, Binghamton-based attorney Jon Sarra and accountant William Starring. Marinaccio and Sarra are Republicans; Starring is a Democrat.
Shortly after the new members were appointed, the board held a presentation before county officials to give instructions on how to fill the disclosure forms out.
“I think the ethics board we have now is making a real good effort in making sure the forms are concise and pertinent,” Marinich said.
On the 2013 financial disclosure statements, some of the county’s top officials also disclosed new outside employment positions, which they said they were not required to report in previous years.
On the forms, outside employment must be disclosed if it results in more than $1,000 in annual income.
Sheriff David Harder said he worked in a security position for Price Gregory International Inc., a Houston-based pipeline developer that helped install the Bluestone Pipeline in eastern Broome County.
Harder said the work involved driving back and forth along the pipeline in a personal vehicle and in plain clothes, and involved no county equipment or property.
“(I) drove from one end of the pipeline to the other end just to make sure nobody was monkeying with their equipment,” he said. “That was it. I took any spot that my deputies were not signing up for.”
Preston disclosed she was a sales representative for Avon. She said she didn’t report it in previous years because she did not meet the $1,000 threshold. She said that work was done off of county premises.
Preston called the reforms enacted in late 2012 and early 2013 “a step in the right direction.”
“The Code of Ethics is very important to me, which is why we pushed to reform the process,” she said. “Those reforms have spelled out exactly what information needs to be supplied, and people are getting acclimated to providing all the information the Board of Ethics is asking for, in the way they want it.”
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