County Consultant Louis Anemone Refuses to Attend Legislative Meeting to Answer Questions about his Sheriff Study

New City, NY (November 24, 2014) – Louis Anemone, the consultant hired by Rockland County to study the Sheriff’s Department, has rejected a request by County Legislator Jay Hood to attend the Public Safety Committee meeting of the legislature to answer questions about his report. Anemone’s report and findings were used as the basis of County Executive Ed Day’s proposal to fire the 37-member Sheriff’s Patrol Unit.

“Mr. Anemone is doing a great disservice to the county, its taxpayers, and public safety personnel by dismissing the legislature’s request to answer questions about his county taxpayer-funded report,” said Legislator Hood, Chair of the Public Safety Committee. “The fact that his refusal to answer questions is also condoned by the county executive’s office makes it clear that both Mr. Anemone and Mr. Day believe they don’t need to answer the questions of the people’s representatives and the public itself.”

The contract that the county signed with Mr. Anemone explicitly dictates that Mr. Anemone’s service to the county is not concluded until November 30, 2014. In his response to the request of the legislature, Mr. Anemone incorrectly states, “my contractual duties to the county have been fulfilled.” The Public Safety Committee meeting Mr. Anemone was requested to attend will take place on Tuesday, November 25th.

Legislator Hood pointed to a statement Mr. Anemone made at the end of his report demonstrating the lack of accountability and transparency of the report and its author. “The consultant is available to discuss any and all aspects of this report...upon the approval of the client, the county executive,” Mr. Anemone wrote.

“It is my belief that Mr. Anemone has made it clear, through his refusal to attend a legislative meeting and his comment in his report, that he will provide answers to important questions only after those answers have been sanitized by the county executive,” said Legislator Hood. “He is very much mistaken about his ‘client’ being the county executive; he is answerable to the people of Rockland County who paid for the report.”

“While some may take this issue lightly, we are diligently reviewing County Executive Day’s proposal to fire 37 law enforcement officers and create a situation that endangers public safety everywhere in Rockland. What can be more important than addressing the legislature about the report he wrote that led to the county executive’s proposal to fire these 37 officers?” Legislator Hood asked of Mr. Anemone’s refusal to attend the legislative meeting. “My committee will review and discuss Mr. Anemone’s report with the public, even if the county executive and Mr. Anemone refuse to do so.”

The Public Safety Committee will meet Tuesday, November 25th, at 5:15 to discuss Mr. Anemone’s report and the proposal to eliminate the Sheriff’s Patrol Unit. The meeting will take place in the legislative chambers at 11 New Hempstead Road in New City. The meeting is open to the public and attendance is encouraged.