By Kathy Savolt -
During the 3 minute public comment period at the August 14th Board of Trustees meeting resident Sue McCrory took the opportunity to correct what she called “certain public misrepresentations made by Mayor Murphy on July 10, 2023.” See HERE for McCrory’s statement.
McCrory went on to clarify her Article 78 lawsuits against the Village when she sees the administration not following the law. Murphy has, over the years, often castigated McCrory and Stuart Tiekert for wasting taxpayer dollars on defending their various lawsuits. McCrory clarified that her lawsuits can be easily settled for no cost to the taxpayers because she only wants the Board to do the right thing and follow the law. See HERE for the reversal of the Board’s position on the vote on the Manager’s contract after she filed an Article 78 claiming the initial vote behind closed doors was illegal.
She went on to say that she (and Tiekert) should not be blamed for the litigation costs as it is the choice of the Village Board whether or not to settle or defend the lawsuits. Prior to his being elected, McCrory stated that Murphy corresponded with her telling her “Don’t drop your lawsuit” when a prior administration allegedly violated the Open Meetings Law. After his election McCrory was surprised that the Village spent $60,000 in defense costs rather than settling – which she claims would have cost nothing.
McCrory’s lawsuit challenging the taxpayer funding of replacement water lines on Flagler Drive – a private road – is to recoup the $3 million spent for the taxpayers. She is not seeking money for herself.
For the Flagler lawsuit McCrory wanted the Board to seek an opinion from the NY Attorney General’s office (AG) whether or not the funding of the replacement water lines on a private road was legal. She referred to 5 contradictory memos from the Village Attorney (See HERE) as the reason an AG opinion was needed.
Mayor Murphy addressed McCrory’s comments stating that the Village of Mamaroneck won the Flagler lawsuit and cited McCrory for the “legal costs of the defendants.” He claimed the Village did the right thing. He also stated that the majority of the prior Board did not want to settle the lawsuit implying that he was in the minority who did.
In a comment made after the meeting McCrory said “If Mayor Murphy cared about Village taxpayers, he would have sought a free and authoritative AG opinion on the Flagler water line. Instead, with no apparent pangs of his conscience, Mayor Murphy has victimized Village taxpayers to favor his Flagler supporters. Although I was once a Tom supporter, the Flagler matter has shown me that Mayor Murphy has used his office to scam Village taxpayers.”
