Callicoon contest rekindles hiring debate

Assistant code enforcement position at issue

By FRITZ MAYER

TOWN OF CALLICOON, NY — With the election season in full force, candidates in the Town of Callicoon are once again discussing the position of the assistant code enforcement officer, who was formally hired by the board against the wishes of the new supervisor in January 2008. The position came with a salary of $5,000 per year.

Tom Bose, the councilman who is running against incumbent supervisor Linda Babicz, called The River Reporter to explain his position on the matter. He said that the position was created in 1992, well before he was a member of the board. Bose said that Babicz and her supporters were painting the issue as if the board created the position for Sementz, which was not true.

But the board did change the job title of the position from deputy code enforcement officer to assistant code enforcement officer. According to various officials familiar with municipal employment, including Callicoon clerk Janet Brahm, the difference between the two is that a deputy works only when the senior code enforcement officer is unavailable, an assistant works regardless of that availability, which, depending on the workload in a given year, could cost the town more.

Further, Babicz said that there is not enough construction activity in the town at this time to justify employing an assistant code enforcement officer. The board members who appointed Semenetz have said there is enough work to justify the position.

Bose also said that Semenetz, who was voted out of the office of supervisor in the November 2007 election, had served as a deputy code enforcement officer for more than three years without pay while he was supervisor.

Babicz reiterated the point she made at the time, that it was technically illegal for him to have filled that position because a supervisor is prohibited from working in a position where he supervises himself.

The board members who voted for the appointment insisted then that they appointed Semenetz because he was qualified, had taken the required courses, and because it’s not that easy to find good code enforcement personnel.

But more than a few Callicoon residents who opposed the appointment said they were against it because it appeared that the board was attempting to get around the results of the election and keep Semenetz on the town payroll.