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Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
Town of Milton
Board of Ethics
Investigation and Opinion
INVESTIGATION # 2018‐002
October 24, 2018
Complaint
Ethics complaint form filed April 25, 2018, filed by Robert Keihm against Ethics Board Member Brenda
Baird; Town Supervisor Scott Ostrander; Town Board Members Benny Zlotnick, John Frolish, and Frank
Blaisdell citing alleged violation of §14‐19(B)(6)(i) of the Town of Milton Ethics Code (see attachment
A and B ).
Upon receipt of an Ethics Complaint form, the Milton Town Board of Ethics is obligated to undertake
an investigation culminating in an advisory opinion relative to alleged violations outlined in the filed
complaint. This process is outlined in §14‐20 in the Milton Town Code of Ethics.
Background Information
The complaint alleges that on February 28, 2018 the above listed board members voted to appoint
Ms. Baird to a position on the Ethics Board, despite the Ethics Board advising the Town Board that
that Ms. Baird had significant conflicts of interest.
Ethics Board members met with and interviewed Mr. Keihm on June 12, 2018 pursuant to the filed
complaint. Mr. Carlson, Mr. Gomula, Mr. Grandin, and Mr. Harkins were present from the Ethics
Board. Mr. Grandin has resigned his position on the Ethics Board as of June 14, 2018.
Ethics Board members met with and interviewed Mr. Frolish on June 28, 2018 pursuant to
the filed complaint. Mr. Carlson, Mr. Gomula, and Mr. Harkins were present from the Ethics Board.
Mr. Frolish chose not to bring representation to this interview.
The Ethics board members met with and interviewed Brenda Baird on July 24, 2018 pursuant to
the filed complaint. Mr. Carlson, Mr. Gomula, and Mr. Harkins were present from the Ethics Board.
Ms. Baird chose not to bring representation to this interview.
Ethics Board members met with and interviewed Mr. Zlotnick on August 28, 2018 pursuant to
the filed complaint. Mr. Carlson, Mr. Gomula, and Mr. Harkins were present from the Ethics Board.
Mr. Zlotnick was accompanied to the interview by John J. Carusone Jr. of Carusone & Carusone
Attorneys At Law.
Ms. Baird is a current member of the Ethics board and has been excluded from this investigation due
to being a target of the complaint.
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 2
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
Summary of Investigation
The complaint alleges that Ms. Baird participated in the election Campaign of Mr. Frolish. Mr. Frolish
stated that he was aware of Ms. Baird’s participation in the campaign gathering signatures for
approximately 4 hours, on behalf of the republican party to support the republican ticket for 2017
campaign. Mr. Frolish noted that the hours Ms. Baird worked were a small part of the approximately
2000 hours worked by her and others on the campaign. That campaign ticket included the Mr. Frolish,
as well as other republican candidates. Mr. Frolish noted that there was “no gain” for Brenda nor Mr.
Frolish in her appointment to the Ethics Board and that he had no regrets in relation to his actions in
the manner.
Ms. Baird stated that she and her husband collected signatures on two separate occasions on behalf
of the republican ticket noted above during the summer of 2017. She estimated the time spent at
between 6 to 12 hours total. She stated that the Mr. Frolish is the individual who handed her
assignment during these canvasing events. In addition to the canvasing work, Ms. Baird stated that
she also attended a BBQ and a Holiday Inn event, both events were related to her work toward the
campaign. The Mr. Frolish attended these events as well.
Ms. Baird further stated that she had worked as an Election Commissioner for Saratoga County. In this
capacity she had contact with Brenda Howe who assigned Election Commissioners to their respective
polling places. Upon the resignation of Ms. Howe, Shannon Doherty performed the same duties with
respect to Ms. Baird. Ms. Baird advised that her contacts with these two individuals were limited to
being assigned by them. Ms. Baird no longer performs as an Election Commissioner and has no contact
with Ms. Howe or Ms. Doherty.
At a Town board meeting on January 24, 2018 Ms. Baird was put up for approval to sit upon the Ethics
Board. The motion was not carried by a vote of 3 to 2 with board members Kerr and Zlotnick dissenting.
Mr. Frolish stated that public disclosure of the campaign work of Ms. Baird was made public via
discussion at the January 24, 2018 board meeting and that he acknowledged that relationship in a
public forum at that time.
Additionally, in the interim period there was communication between the town board and the Ethics
Board in relation to Ms. Baird’s candidacy for the Ethics Board. Then Chairman, Robert Keihm
(complainant) noted the concerns at the subject of this complaint to Town Attorney Craig, Supervisor
Ostrander, with the rest of the town board on carbon copy (see attachment C and D).
At the February 28, 2018 Town Board meeting, Ms. Baird was again put up for a vote with Mr. Zlotnick
putting forth the motion. The vote was carried 4 to 1 with Board Member Kerr being the dissenting
vote. At this time Mr. Keihm and Mr. John Bory resigned from the Ethics Board in protest, voicing
concerns related to the content of the complaint.
Mr. Zlotnick stated that he met with Mr. Keihm and Mr. Bory after their resignations from the Ethics
Board in a private meeting with the goal to discuss the matter and perhaps get them to reconsider
their resignations. Mr. Keihm felt that the meeting resulted in Mr. Zlotnick feeling that his vote to put
Ms. Baird upon the Ethics Board may have been incorrect due to the information discussed at that
meeting. Mr. Zlotnick indicated that as time has passed, that he remains confident that he voted
appropriately.
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 3
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
Opinion of the Board
Due to the nature of this complaint the Milton Town Ethics Board reached out to the County as well
as the New York State Association of Towns for consultation. We were advised that a matter such as
this would be most appropriately handled at the town level and that the county did not have a
mechanism in place in which to conduct an outside review (see Attachment E and F). Based on this
assessment, the Ethics Board has proceeded with the investigation as noted in this report.
In relation to §14‐19(B)(6)(i) of the Town of Milton Ethics Code, this section of the Code of Ethics cited
in the complaint addresses the qualification of Ethics Board Members, and states that “all candidates
seeking appointment to the Ethics Board… Have no clear and present significant conflicts of interest”.
It is the opinion of The Ethics Board that this section of the Code as written is directed solely to the
candidate and does not apply to Members of the Town board.
Additionally, although it is true the town board members were made aware of Ms. Baird’s alleged
conflicts of interest, per §14‐19 (3) the appointment of new Ethics Board members rests with the Town
Board who holds ultimate review and approval responsibilities for new Ethics Board members and can
accept or reject the advisory opinions of the Ethics Board related to those appointments as it sees fit.
Per §14‐19(B)(6)(i) ultimate responsibility of an alleged conflict of interest lies with the candidate and
not the Town Board, therefore no violation exists in relation to Town Board Members Benny Zlotnick,
John Frolish, Frank Blaisdell and Town Supervisor Scott Ostrander.
On the subject of conflict of interest, it should be noted that Milton is a small town and that it is quite
common for personal relationships to develop between those that live here. Interest as defined in the
Ethics Code in §14‐03 a relationship where one or both parties can benefit financially, materially, or
monetarily from the current relationship. Personal relationships that do not involve interest or
working relationships that have concluded do not necessarily constitute an “interest”. On the subject
of Ms. Baird’s campaign work on behalf of Mr. Frolish, §14‐19(B)(6)(i) of the Town of Milton Ethics
Code states that “candidates to the Ethics Board … have no clear and present conflicts of interest.” As
Ms. Baird’s work on Mr. Frolish’s campaign occurred prior to her time on the Ethics Board and there
is no indication that she currently holds similar positions, the purported violation is not present. The
investigation into Ms. Bairds work on the Frolish Campaign did not result in any significant evidence
that led us to the conclusion that Ms. Baird’s appointment was either reward for her work on the
campaign or an effort to put an ally of Mr. Frolish on the Ethics Board. Additional to this point, her
work as an election commissioner in which she worked for and with other town employees and officers
is also concluded and yielded no evidence that was of concern. Further, Ms. Baird does not appear to
have any current or present relationships of interest with Mr. Frolish or any other employees or
officers of the town that have been made apparent at the time of this investigation.
The Ethics Code is quite clear in its language relative to recusal and abstention in §14‐11 in matters
where the individual has an “interest in the matter” and if such a situation comes before the Ethics
Board, it is the responsibility of any of its members to step aside from such an investigation where
they may have a present conflict of interest. Ms. Baird has done so in this as well as a second matter
before the Ethics Board. As such, she has operated in accordance with code, not violated it. Her
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 4
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
relationships may force her recusal from forthcoming investigations but this in itself does not
constitute conflict of interest.
Due to the Ethics Board finding no violations of the Code of Ethics by any of the individuals named in
the complaint, it should be considered resolved and the investigation completed.
It is worth mentioning that although there is no violation found as the result of this investigation, that
civil communication and transparency in action between the Ethics Board and Town Board could have
likely have prevented this situation from developing to the point at which it has resulted both in
relation to this complaint as well as surrounding incidents between the Town Board and the Ethics
Board.
All of the above opinions were reached unanimously.
Attachments
Attachment A – Ethics Complaint, Keihm dated April 25, 2018
Attachment B – Milton Town Ethics Code §14‐19, (B)(6)(i)
Attachment C – EB_TB correspondence Feb 26 2018
Attachment D – EB_TB correspondence Jan 24 2018
Attachment E ‐ County Correspondence_week of 04‐30‐2018
Attachment F ‐ Correspondence with NYSAOT
Board Members
Seth Harkins, Chairman of the Board of Ethics
Severin Carlson, Ethics Board Member
Michael Gomula, Ethics Board Member
Brenda Baird, Ethics Board Member (EXCLUDED)
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 5
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
ATTACHMENT A
ETHICS COMPLAINT
Filed by Robert Keihm
April 25, 2018
2 PAGE
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 6
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
ATTACHMENT B
Town of Milton Code of Ethics
§14‐19(B)(6)(i)
1 PAGE
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 7
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
§14-19 Board of Ethics
(b) Qualification of Board members.
(6) All candidates seeking appointment to the Board of Ethics must agree to:
(i) Have no clear and present significant conflicts of interest.
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 8
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
ATTACHMENT C
Correspondence between Ethics Board and Town Board
January 24, 2018
2 PAGES
Gmail - Re: Town of Milton - Board of Ethics Appointment https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=68e4a0393a&jsver=Mm6w...
Town of Milton Board of Ethics <miltonboardofethics@gmail.com> Wed, Jan 24, 2018 at 11:37 AM
To: "James P. Craig" <jpc@browncraighunt.com>
Cc: Scott Ostrander <scott.ostrander12020@gmail.com>, bzlotnick@hotmail.com, grayowlfarm@aol.com,
bkerrtownofmilton@gmail.com, frolishmilton@gmail.com, Shannon Doherty <sdoherty@townofmiltonny.org>
Jim,
“Ms. Baird,
I want to thank you for your interest in filling a seat on the Ethics Board. After completing our interviews we have
selected another candidate. Again, we thank you for your interest and the time you have taken with us and wish you
the best.
Thank you
As you can see, nowhere in the message does it indicate that she will not be appointed. That merely indicated that
we, the Board, selected another candidate for recommendation to the Town Board. I admit I should have been more
clear. I also take offense at your insinuation of being vindictive or having an ulterior motive as well as the veiled threat
of removal. I and the entire Board have always and will always place the best interest of the Town above all else
including politics.
The Ethics Board Members saw last evening on the agenda for the January 24, 2018 Town Board meeting, there is a
motion to be made to appoint Brenda Baird to the Ethics Board. Based on our interview with Ms Baird, we did not
find her to be the most qualified candidate for either vacancy on the Ethics Board. Specifically, the Ethics Board, not
just one individual was concerned with Ms Baird’s own admissions that she currently works with a Town Board
member and even worked on his campaign. Ms Baird also disclosed other Town employees that she currently or has
worked with in a political relationship.
Given this information, the Ethics Board, not one individual, believed this presented a potential conflict should an
investigation be conducted into any one of five Officials/employees in which Ms Baird would have to recuse herself.
The Ethics Board needs to be free from actual or the appearance of conflicts and bias. This includes any undue
political pressure. Additionally, if a Board member needs to recuse his/herself in many instances, it renders the
position/appointment ineffective.
The Ethics Board should be free from political influence and it appears certain individuals on the Board seem intent to
appoint an individual who has potential conflict issues with serving. This began back in 2017 when the Ethics Board
was excluded from the interview process, which was never done before. The appointments were placed on the
January 3, 2018 agenda and it wasn’t until I approached Supervisor Ostrander about the issue that the Ethics Board
had not been notified of interested candidates, nor given the opportunity to interview said candidates, that he
acquiesced and provided us with the resumes so we could conduct interviews and make our recommendations. We
went into each interview with an open mind and made our recommendations accordingly. It seems that irregardless of
our recommendations, the Supervisor is intent on appointing whoever he wants without deference to the Ethics
Board’s recommendations. He even sent me an email asking where the written communication was on Ms Baird,
making it appear it was a foregone conclusion that we would recommend her. At no time were we questioned why we
chose our two candidates over another. I and the Ethics Board have nothing at all against Ms Baird personally and
1 of 5 7/28/2018, 9:30 AM
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 9
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
ATTACHMENT D
Correspondence between Ethics Board and Town Board
FEBRUARY 26, 2018
1 PAGE
Gmail - Re: Ethics board appointment https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=68e4a0393a&jsver=Mm6w...
Town of Milton Board of Ethics <miltonboardofethics@gmail.com> Mon, Feb 26, 2018 at 4:07 PM
To: Scott Ostrander <scott.ostrander12020@gmail.com>
Cc: grayowlfarm@aol.com, frolishmilton@gmail.com, bzlotnick@hotmail.com, Barbara Kerr
<bkerrtownofmilton@gmail.com>
Scott,
Thanks for the information. I find it very concerning that you and the Board are pushing a candidate that is not
supported by your own Ethics Board based on concerns of possible ethical conflicts with more than one
employee/official. It makes it seem that this is either political payback for someone who assisted on a campaign or
worse, someone who would be an insider.
It is now clear your intent was to bring her back up again when I requested the position be reposted and you declined
to do so and refused to meet with me on the issue.
The Ethics Board should be independent and free from politics and it seems that is not the case here. I urge you and
the Board to reconsider and repost the position for interview for a candidate both the Ethics Board and Town Board
can agree on who does not have obvious conflict issues.
Thanks
Rob
> On Feb 26, 2018, at 3:47 PM, Scott Ostrander <scott.ostrander12020@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Rob I received an email from councilman Zlotnick stating that he changed his mind on Brenda Baird after he had a
conversation with her after our last board meeting.So I’m informing you that her appointment was put back on our
agenda for the meeting on Wednesday.I advised you if there was any changes that I would keep you informed.Scott
>
> Sent from my iPhone
1 of 1 7/28/2018, 9:36 AM
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 10
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
ATTACHMENT E
County Correspondence
April 30, 2018
2 PAGES
Seth Harkins
Mr. Harkins,
I can confirm that you were in contact with my and I advised you to contact the NYS Association of Towns.
The County has no authority to hear Town‐level ethics complaints. Town ethics complaints should be handled
at the Town level.
I have no objection to you including the above in any report you prepare relative to your investigation.
Stephen M. Dorsey, Esq.
Saratoga County Attorney
President, County Attorneys' Association of
the State of New York
40 McMaster Street
Ballston Spa, New York, 12020
Phone: (518) 884‐4770
Fax: (518) 884‐4720
Email: sdorsey@saratogacountyny.gov
1
From: Seth Harkins <swh2645@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, May 4, 2018 11:45:39 AM
To: Stephen Dorsey
Subject: Saratoga County Board of Ethics
Mr. Dorsey,
I am Chairman of the Town of Milton Ethics Board. I was in touch with you via phone recently about a
complaint filed against one of my ethics board members and several town board members. You advised me to
contact the NYS Assoc. of Towns. I spoke to Katie Hodgedin, an attorney at their office. Thank you for that
connection.
She advised me that she sees no reason that the Milton Ethics Board cannot investigate this matter as long as
such an investigation is done in good faith and by the rules set forth in the ethics code. I am willing to proceed
as such though hesitantly. I would like to confirm via this email two things:
(A) that I plan to mention in my concluding report on this investigation that I was in touch with you as well as
Ms. Hodgedin on the matter prior to conducting the investigation.
(B) that Saratoga County does not have a county level mechanism to review Ethics Complaints, therefore this
should be handled at the town level Ethics Board contrary to section 42-7 of the Saratoga County Code of
Ethics which states that there is a 5 member county board of Ethics.
Thank you,
Seth Harkins
Chairman, Town of Milton Board of Ethics
swh2645@gmail.com
518-638-8000 x221 (M-F, 9am - 5pm)
518-810-6387 (c)
ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open
attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.
2
Town of Milton – Board of Ethics Page 11
Investigation and Opinion ‐ 2018‐002 October 24, 2018
ATTACHMENT F
Correspondence with New York State Association of Towns
June 14, 2018
3 PAGES
Gmail - Fwd: Follow-up to phone call - Milton NY Ethics Board https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=ec0a1e9e76&jsver=Mm6w...
Town of Milton Board of Ethics <miltonboardofethics@gmail.com> Thu, Jun 14, 2018 at 4:39 PM
To: Seth Harkins <swh2645@gmail.com>
Dear Chair Harkins,
As we discussed, ar cle 18 of the General Municipal Law limits the authority of a town ethics board to addressing inquiries from
town officers and employees about his or her own ethical conduct. (General Municipal Law, §808). The Town of Milton ethics
board has been given addi onal du es in the Town of Milton ethics code. I noted during our discussion that the plain language of
the town’s code appears to indicate that the candidate for appointment bears the responsibility to ensure that he or she does
not have a prohibited conflict of interest but that it could be interpreted differently by another party. I did not have any guidance
to offer regarding the interpreta on of this provision other than the plain reading of the provision because it is a local code
provision and you should therefore look to the local code, local rules and prior prac ce regarding the role and authority of the
ethics board.
Whether or not the town ethics board has been given the authority to inves gate members of the town board is also outside the
state statutory framework and is likewise a ma er of interpreta on of the town’s local code of ethics.
I hope this informa on is helpful to you. If we can be of assistance to you in the future, please do not hesitate to call or write.
Sincerely,
Lori Mithen‐DeMasi
Counsel
Associa on of Towns of the State of New York
1 of 3 7/29/2018, 10:26 AM
Gmail - Fwd: Follow-up to phone call - Milton NY Ethics Board https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=ec0a1e9e76&jsver=Mm6w...
Phone: (518) 465‐7933
Fax: (518) 465‐0724
Email: lmithen@nytowns.org
From: Town of Milton Board of Ethics <miltonboardofethics@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2018 2:22 PM
To: Lori Mithen‐Demasi <lmithen-demasi@nytowns.org>
Subject: Follow‐up to phone call ‐ Milton NY Ethics Board
Ms. Mithen,
As we spoke about, the board of ethics has received a complaint filed against one of our members as well as four
members of our town board. The complainant cites 14-19-b-6-i which states, " All candidates seeking appointment to
the Board of Ethics must agree to: Have no clear and present significant conflicts of interest."
I believe my board can and will investigate this violation in reference to our fellow board member. I asked if this
section of code could be used against the town board members (that voted for her admittance to the ethics board) as
its language seems solely directed at the member of the ethics board.
You stated that this is section of our town's code is additional to what is written in the state code and that this
additional language should be interpreted based on our local standards and our writing of these additional sections.
You were not aware of any reason why the ethics board could choose to investigate or not the allegations against the
town board members specifically as long as we followed the rules of our own code and investigative process.
2 of 3 7/29/2018, 10:26 AM
Gmail - Fwd: Follow-up to phone call - Milton NY Ethics Board https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=ec0a1e9e76&jsver=Mm6w...
We discussed further the nature of the complaint and the role of the town board in the nomination and approval of
members of the ethics board. Specifically that the town board is the approving authority for ethics board members,
that the ethics board interviews all candidates and submits recommendations to the town board relative to your
suitability for the ethics board. The town board has the right to accept those recommendations or not via its super-
majority vote to admit new ethics board members.
Please respond to this email so I may know that it was received. I do intend to use this correspondence within my
report on this investigation in order to add to our findings and serve as a record of my board's communications relative
to this investigation. Toward that end, feel free to add or alter any of my notes as you feel appropriate.
Best,
Seth Harkins
3 of 3 7/29/2018, 10:26 AM