Tuesday Night at City Hall

Two things worthy of note happened at the regular meeting of the Common Council on Tuesday night. The first was a resolution, which had not been introduced at the informal meeting on January 12, to enable the Council to have its own legal counsel. 

In introducing the resolution, Council president Don Moore explained that "the mayor wants counsel that is his exclusively" and "the Council needs to have an attorney to act as its legal adviser." This attorney would be paid a $15,000 annual retainer, from funds already in the 2015 budget which would be reallocated for the purpose.

Responding to a question from Alderman Abdus Miah (Second Ward), city attorney Carl Whitbeck said he had not seen the resolution and could not comment, but he pointed out that in other municipalities, the council does have its own counsel. "The charter does not say the Council can or cannot retain its own counsel," he said.

Moore maintained that the charter gives the Council the ability to hire advisers and retaining an attorney was hiring a legal adviser.

Mayor Hallenbeck had different ideas. "It is the mayor's position," he declared from the back of the room, "that the charter clearly states that the mayor has the authority to appoint the attorney." He made reference to the 2006 referendum (which asked: "Should . . . the Hudson City Charter be amended so that . . . the Common Council may, upon a majority vote of the Common Council, employ its own legal counsel to advise the Council on matters affecting the City of Hudson?") and reminded the Council that the referendum had failed. He maintained that, in wanting its own legal adviser, the Council was "lessening the powers of the mayor," and insisted that such action required a referendum.

Moore likened the Council having a legal adviser to having a Conservation Advisory Council to advise the Council in matters and decisions. (It will be recalled that the mayor also had problems with creating a CAC, believing it would reduce or limit the powers of the mayor.)

Beginning by telling the mayor, "You fired a qualified person for a political reason," Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward) argued that there was no need for a referendum. "The Council has the power to hire and retain its own adviser." He then reeled off a list of New York State laws that the Council must understand. Addressing the mayor again, he elaborated: "You fired Dan Tuczinski because you wanted to hire someone who worked in the county attorney's office." He then concluded by asking rhetorically, "How can I, who has taken an oath to do a job, do that job? I rely on the professional advisers that are provided."

Alderman David Marston (First Ward) pointed out, "Our agendas are full of matters that require legal advice," and questioned how there could be Legal Committee meetings with no attorney present. He called the resolution to reallocate funds already in the city attorney's budget "the fastest, cleanest way to end this."

Glenn Martin, former police chief and one-time candidate for Third Ward supervisor, speaking from the audience, raised a number of objections. He wanted to know why the resolution was not introduced at the informal meeting, who was paying for the Council's legal adviser, and whether that person would be "an adviser or an adversary." Warming to his subject, Martin called Friedman a clown, at which time Moore rapped his gavel and declared, "I will not take personal insults in this chamber!" He demanded that Martin sit down. Instead, Martin left the room but not the building in a huff.

Alderman Nick Haddad (First Ward) was not the first to allude to a lengthy executive session that had taken place in November. He told Hallenbeck that he "felt encouraged that the executive branch supported Council having its own counsel" and said he was surprised at the mayor's opposition.

The mayor then declared that "if this body should pass this resolution," he wanted an opinion in writing from the "real legal counsel," presumably meaning Whitbeck, before he would sign it. 

The resolution did pass. All the aldermen voted in favor except for Alderman Bob Donahue (Fifth Ward), who voted no, and Miah, who abstained, having earlier in the discussion delivered a lecture on the theme of working together and not battling.

A vote on the proposed local law to establish minimum sizes for studio and one-bedroom apartments was also on the agenda. Before the vote, Friedman proposed an amendment to the law, eliminating the 500 square foot minimum for one-bedroom apartments and making 350 square feet the minimum size for an apartment no matter what the configuration. Haddad objected that the amendment "played into the wrong people's hands" and spoke of the perceived housing shortage in Hudson as "a manufactured shortage."

Alderman Tiffany Garriga (Second Ward) spoke in support of the amendment, pointing out that people in Hudson Terrace lived happily in one-bedroom apartments that were about 380 square feet. 

The vote to amend the law passed with only Haddad voting no. Because the change constitutes a material change, the amended law must sit on the aldermen's desks for another ten days. There was some suggestion that a special meeting should be held rather than waiting until February to vote to remove it from their desks and enact the law.
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