Clarkstown's Response to My Article on the ZBA: Worse than Denial

I would like to invite Supervisor Hoehmann to address the following questions with regard to the Clarkstown Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA):

1.Why has the Town of Clarkstown (Town) abruptly ended the posting of Minutes for the ZBA public hearings? The Minutes were routinely posted on the Public Notices section of the Town webpage for years before you took office. Your administration abruptly removed them from the Town webpage several months ago. They were restored after I complained, only to be removed once again this past week.

2. Were the ZBA Minutes removed from the webpage at your direction or at the direction of someone in your administration? If so, what was the reason/s for their removal?

3. Why is the ZBA the only Board in the Town whose Minutes are not posted on the Public Notices section of the Town webpage (noting that Minutes for the Town Board are posted on the Town Clerk's webpage)?

4. Why has your administration refused to post ZBA Proposed Resolutions on the Town webpage since August 2016 in contravention of Town Law and the Open Meetings Law?

5. Were the ZBA Proposed Resolutions removed from the webpage at your direction or at the direction of someone in your administration? If so, what was the reason/s for their removal?

6. Please explain how a citizen of the Town can stay informed of the decisions of the ZBA without having access to the Minutes and Proposed Resolutions posted on the Town webpage.

7. Please explain why your administration's failures do not cause a citizen to have to waste time and money in accessing public information through the costly means of Freedom of Information inquiries.

The Hoehmann administration purports to value transparency in government. Its actions belie that claim. Over the past year it has played a game of deception with the public's right to know about the decisions of one of the Town's most consequential boards. It's time for such games to end.