During my campaign for President of the Easton Town Council, some people have privately mentioned to me that I should be less irritated and less blunt regarding some of the serious issues occurring at Town Hall. By nature, I am a positive person; I believe that Easton has the potential to better serve its citizens by working together, but in order to achieve that, we need to deal with some painful issues that should not be happening on the taxpayers’ dime. If you are unaware of what is taking place, below are some examples you have the right to know about.
Misuse of Taxpayer Dollars: The Town of Easton used your tax dollars to pay for two months of health insurance for former mayor Bob Willey’s wife’s health insurance premiums despite Mr. Willey no longer being a town official and Mrs. Willey not being a town employee. This expense was also not budgeted. Is the town going to help pay for your health insurance premiums if you ask them? Most likely not. Is the town going to pay for the current mayor’s husband when she leaves office? Quite possibly. That makes me angry, and it should make you angry, too.
Special Privileges for Certain Employees: In the previous and the current administrations, two of the most highly paid town employees have been exempted from having to contribute to their share of health insurance coverage. Meanwhile, every other town employee; from our newest hires to our highly experienced veterans have money deducted from their paychecks to pay for their coverage. That makes me angry, and it should make you angry, too.
Violation of Federal Law with Contract Employment: The town is also paying healthcare costs for a contract employee, which is a violation of federal law. A contractor should be responsible for funding their own healthcare. So, a person who is not an employee of the town gets their healthcare paid, while employees have to pay for it themselves. Not only is this a violation, but it is an insult. That makes me angry, and it should make you angry, too.
Violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): The town has not classified all executive and managerial employees exempt from overtime, as the act states. This results in the most highly paid administrative and supervisory employees wrongly receiving overtime pay. Cumulatively, this comes to hundreds of thousands of your taxpayer dollars being paid to employees who should not receive it, under the FLSA. That makes me angry, and it should make you angry, too.
Creating a Hostile Work Environment: When serving as your Ward 1 councilperson, I had been approached by town employees who informed me that the town manager and certain staff members had interrogated them regarding conversations they have had with their duly elected town council members to interfere with their inquiries about town business. A positive work environment is one where people feel safe to report items that concern them, especially with their elected officials. This type of culture is not tolerated in the private sector and should not be in public administration. But unfortunately, it is occurring. That makes me angry, and it should make you angry, too.
Not Following Rules the Rest of Us Have To: As an example, when town hall was remodeled, the town did not appear before the Historic District Commission for a hearing and approval, like every other citizen, business or organization in a Historic District does. Why not? Why do you have to follow the rules and get penalized, but the town does not? That makes me angry, and it should make you angry, too.
You may ask, “Why didn’t you let the mayor and council president know, when you were representing Ward 1?” The answer is, I did. I brought these issues up and they were ignored, which inspired my campaign for Mayor and now, Council President.
As Town Council President, I pledge that I will work with the mayor and council to ensure that we have a well-managed, open, transparent, fiscally responsible government that fully complies with all local, state and federal laws and regulations.
As always, please contact me with your concerns at 410.253.9178 or [email protected] . I appreciate your feedback and respectfully ask for your support on September 12th.
Al Silverstein is a candidate for the Easton Council President. The Election will be help of September 12.
Jo-Ann Saville says
Mr. Silverstein, Thank you, and the Talbot Spy, for exposing the irregular actions and criminal activities by the previous Town of Easton administration. I sincerely hope the reactions and voting by Easton town residents get what you, and the residents of Easton, need to right the past wrongs and lead us to a cleaner and more transparent future!!
Belen Jaramillo says
They should be processed and tried. Unacceptable. Little towns misuse of taxpayer dollars must be address at once. Courts must act in deterrence as an example to others who may try to misuse funds.
Dennis Mesko says
Mr Silverstein really needs to become more knowledgeable about the intricacies of both COBRA and the FLSA before he goes off on how the town is applying them.
His comments have allowed me to narrow my choices in the upcoming election.
Clara Kelly says
The Town has an ethics commission and a town attorney. Each should look into these matters.
In the meantime, Mr. Mesko, I would be interested in the specifics of the COBRA and FLSA intricacies to which you refer and how they apply to the TOE’s budget and contractual obligations since I was a human resources administrator for more than 20+ years with an international corporation of 10,000+ employees.
Reed Fawell 3 says
I am not surprised after seeing last three interviews on Spy, and learning of electric charger-gate and digging into Poplar Hill, and attending and speaking at planning commission meeting on Poplar Hill. I am reminded of seeing too many broken windows, and what it portends.
Alan Boisvert says
Little town politics…..hilarious
Carol Voyles says
If only.
Alan Boisvert says
In the larger scheme….these are first world issues and unworthy
Mary Yancey says
Al, I had been wavering in my decision for the upcoming election but you’ve helped me make up my mind. I’m afraid you have lost my vote. What actions did you take through the proper channels to address these concerns, and what was their response?
Mary Yancey
Easton
David Reel says
Read his post. He wrote –You may ask, “Why didn’t you let the mayor and council president know, when you were representing Ward 1?” The answer is, I did. I brought these issues up and they were ignored, which inspired my campaign for Mayor and now, Council President.”
Richard Marks says
There is surely always room for improvement and opportunities to do so. Bringing attention to issues is necessary and offering solutions vital, but getting angry is not usually productive and frankly, under these circumstances, sounds and feels spiteful. Consensus rather than contentious should rule the day.
Holly Wright says
Consensus is just another word for status quo apparently including bad government. Playing nicely with local power brokers has brought this community to where it is, threatened by mega development and regional medical center farther and farther off into the future. Whether this will continue is on the ballot September 12th.
Noah matten says
In a letter published on August 23rd in the Spy, titled “You Should Be Angry Too,” Mr. Silverstein levels a series of unsupported accusations against the town, presenting them as undisputed facts. For instance, he claims the town has violated Federal Law by covering a contract worker’s health insurance—yet fails to cite any legal statute.
Mr. Silverstein further alleges that the town has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by claiming its “exemption” clause prevents executive and managerial employees from earning overtime. This is a misleading interpretation. The Act sets minimum standards for wages and overtime but does provide exemptions for certain roles. However, these exemptions don’t bar employers from paying overtime; they merely state it isn’t obligatory. Given Mr. Silverstein’s position as a legislative official, a higher standard of due diligence would be expected of him, particularly when making public statements. Consulting legal experts to validate his claims would have been a prudent step.
Beyond these claims, Mr. Silverstein speaks of a hostile work environment within the town office while paradoxically discussing sensitive personnel matters in public. This raises concerns about how he acquired this information and the weaponization of it. Such behavior undermines the very claim of hostile work environments he purports to be concerned about.
Mr. Silverstein’s approach appears not to be in line with the established conduct of our town government and could be a harbinger of conflicts if he wins his bid for Easton Council President. If any of his claims have merit, accountability should be a shared responsibility involving both the executive and legislative branches of our town government.
This leads to larger questions: Why did Mr. Silverstein deviate from his responsibility to his constituents during his tenure as a Ward 1 Councilman? Why would he opt for confrontation over diplomacy, especially when aspiring to represent the town’s citizens?
In conclusion, I challenge Mr. Silverstein to present verified facts, demonstrate his capacity for leadership, and collaborate effectively with town staff to rectify any genuine issues. Veering away from unfounded, divisive campaigns would be a step in the right direction.
Reed Fawell says
No, sometimes anger is essential to finding the will and courage to stand up and resist in this age of complacency, group think, the smear, the mob and cancellation, something long overdue around here.
Richard Marks says
Reed,
No doubt and no surprise as I have read a number of your posts and can tell you are hell bent on “fixing” our country and society. Perhaps it is not as broken as you think. Maybe a bit more love and a bit less anger would be better salve to heal.
Richard
Jan Bohn says
Cobra is to be paid by an employee, not an employer. Overtime rules are clearly defined and cannot be overruled be an employer, talk to any accountant or CPA. As Mr. Silverstein has had opportunity to have 1st hand knowledge of these
transgressions it would behoove us to take a second look. If we find cause for concern, we citizens must take action.