Batavia's City Council met for a brief session last ight in City Hall and in that time unofficially decided to nix the city's ethics board and rely on the county's one if needed—though I imagine any formal vote on it would come at the next meeting, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Council also decided to switch the meeting schedule so that council will only meet once a month on alternating Mondays. Council will continue to meet twice a month, but its meetings will be split. That means one Monday will be a business meeting and another will be the conference meeting.

In other news, City Council President Charlie Mallow has decided to step down as chairman of the Genesee County Democratic Party. Mallow will give up the post on September 17, though he plans to remain active in the group. He was chairman for a year and a half.

After weeks of asserting that he would not recuse himself from a City Council vote to purchase a sign for the mall, Councilman Bob Bialkowski abstained when it came his turn tonight, doing what everyone had been saying was the right thing to do and nullifying any purpose to convene the city's ethics board. So ends that debate.

That vote, by the way, won with a clear majority, and the city will purchase a new sign advertising the mall, not to exceed $20,000. Council members Charlie Mallow and Marianne Clattenburg voted against the purchase.

"I'm really frustrated with this whole situation," said Clattenburg. "I'm ambivalent on the sign. I was for it when we voted for the budget, but I don't know now that this has become so hostile."

After the vote, Bialkowski said that in the end he abstained so as not to hold up procedure.

"Everything else aside," said Councilman Frank Ferrando, "We took the sign down. We should put it back up."

If I may be allowed a moment to digress... Sometimes, folks, things just work out. Even in such municipal farces as these, what we all know ought to happen happens despite the rancor, despite the bitter clash of personalities and despite the obstinacy of otherwise good people who inexplicably act contrary to common sense. God bless America.

Council was also supposed to appoint a five member board of ethcis, but that was postponed owing to the efforts of Rosemary Christian who said she "didn't even know" the city was "looking for an ethics committee."

"My concern," said Councilman Tim Buckley, "is that nobody here can explain to me what exactly the ethcis board does. It might be spelled out, but there has been no action. I'd like to spend some more time on this and make sure it's done right. I'd like to define their job a little more, instead of just saying that these are members of a board that do nothing."

Council members Mallow and Clattenburg sounded the sole votes against postponing the appointments. Clattenburg said that such a move "means we're rejecting these members."

Color me surprised when I read the headline at the top of the local section in today's Daily News: Lawyer: Ethics issue will be addressed. Now that can't be right. That can't be the very same lawyer I telephoned yesterday and asked if he could please comment on that issue, only to be told that no, he could not and would not comment. But lo and behold, there was that very lawyer's name in today's article: George Van Nest, and a quote from him that's almost an inch thick.

I called Van Nest yesterday to ask him a simple question: Why did he request the county board of ethics to look into a potential conflict of interest if it's stated in the policy for that county board that it will not act on an issue for a municipality that already has its own board of ethics? Van Nest said quite flatly that he would not comment on anything related to the county or city ethics boards.

Nevertheless, in today's article by Joanne Beck, he had this to say of the future ruling on City Councilman Bob Bialkowski's potential conflict of interest:

"It will be addressed in due course," Van Nest said Thursday. "I was aware of the process in Article 18, and discussed it with representatives of the county board before (submitting a request for the board to review the issue). The county board may review it but does not have to."

That's a pretty long no comment. When I called Van Nest again today to ask him why he said he would not comment on this issue and then was quoted in the newspaper doing just that, I was transferred to his voice mail. I left a message.

Also, the question still remains: Will the county board of ethics meet to discuss the conflict deemed unethical by the city attorney?

Van Nest was not certain whether the county board would take his request or not. He had not heard anything official as of Thursday, he said. Carolyn Pratt, clerk of the Legislature, said the request could not be discussed in public, per board rules.

What we can tell you is that the City Council released its agenda for its meeting Monday, and included in it is the appointment of five individuals to the city's board of ethics, which, if approved by a majority of council, would constitute a quorum. That would make the request for the county board to meet a moot point.

Consolidation between the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and the City of Batavia Police should go through by the end of the month, according to the Daily News. The county legislature approved a $76,000 capital project at its meeting last night—$9,926 of that will be paid by the county, the rest covered by a state grant.

In an article by Joanne Beck, City Council President Charlie Mallow says that a question initially posed for the city's board of ethics—does Councilman Bob Bialkowski have a conflict of interest regarding votes on the mall—will now be taken up by the county board of ethics. City Attorney George Van Nest "submitted the matter to the county's board within the last week, Mallow said. However, the county's Clerk of the Legislature Carolyn Pratt says that the county board cannot act "on any issue from a municipality that has already established an ethics board," and the city has its own board. I called Van Nest to ask him if this means that the county board will not hear the matter, but he declined to comment. It was the most simple question I thought to ask, and really beats at the heart of the whole article. If the county board of ethics can't meet to discuss this: first, why is it news? And second, why would Van Nest ask them to meet?

For more fun and informative articles just like these, be sure to get out and pick up your very own copy of the Daily News. Or, better yet, subcribe at BataviaNews.com.

Batavia's Board of Ethics may have been so quiet over the past few years that you wouldn't even know they exist — Councilman Bob Bialkowski certainly didn't — but according to the Daily News, such an advisory group is still around, though hardly in full form.

This morning, city officials have listed Lewis Henning, the Rev. Raymond Kraus (whose term expired in December 2005), Jine Monachino, Durin Rogers and Holly Sharpe (who had resigned) as current board members. No terms or procedures were available.

Without Kraus and Sharpe, the board that was originally composed of six members is currently down to three — member Todd Phelps was rendered inactive at the start of 2006, since he no longer lived in the area.

The Batavian phoned Lewis Henning to find out more information about the board's procedures. Henning said that he had never sat with the board in its official advisory capacity. When he and the other members were appointed a few years back, they "met and sorted out liability" and discussed their responsibilities.

"As a board we search out the charter and relevant issues and make a decision from there, then send our decision on to the city attorney," he said.

"We have never made an opinion so far."

During the early stages in 2005 or so when the board was coming together and city officials were working out just what they were supposed to do and say and what power they had, it was decided that the board makes "a recommendation" — known as its advisory opinion — but that the decision "didn't really have any bite to it," said Henning.

He did not know when the board will meet, though he imagines it would be "probably pretty soon." Nor does he know how the city will address the issue of the three missing board members.

City Manager Jason Molino has not yet returned our calls for comment. We are hoping to find out more information about the procedure for the Board of Ethics, when it will meet and how a decision will be rendered and considered by the City Council.

Previous related posts:

• Bialkowski says he does not have a conflict of interest
• Board of Ethics asked to convene...

City Councilman Bob Bialkowski insists that he will not recuse himself  "at this time" from a vote by council to purchase a new sign for the mall, where his wife works as mall manager.

"I really can't," he said. "I have no financial interest. Our charter has said no one can recuse themselves unless they have a direct financial interest. It's in the charter. I have no interest. My wife has no financial interest."

At the council meeting on July 14, Bialkowski was asked by Council President Charlie Mallow to recuse himself from the vote as the purchase of the sign by the city would benefit the mall merchants financially and thus Bialkowski by association. Those comments were followed up by a letter sent yesterday by City Attorney George Van Nest requesting the Batavia Board of Ethics to convene regarding a conflict of interest of a certain "councilman" whose "wife is manager of the mall" regarding that very same vote.

Bialkowski spurns those claims.

He says his wife is only an "hourly employee" of the mall and stands to see no gain from the installation of a sign advertising mall shops. Further, she is not on any board and does not meet with the Mall Merchants Association, the group requesting the sign.

More than all that, he said, "we don't have a Board of Ethics, at least we didn't the last time I knew."

The Batavian called Mallow to find out more information about the Board of Ethics. We are waiting for him to return our call. We could not find a listing of the members of such a board on the city Web site. But we did find the following in the City Code:

There is hereby established a Board of Ethics consisting of six members to be appointed by the Council and who shall serve without compensation for a term of five years each, with the initial terms to be staggered so that one member shall be appointed or reappointed each year, with the exception of the fifth year when two members shall be appointed. All members shall be residents of the City of Batavia, except that no member may be an officer or employee of the City of Batavia.

The Board of Ethics shall have the powers and duties prescribed by Article 18 of the General Municipal Law and shall render advisory opinions to the officers and employees of the City of Batavia with respect to Article 18 of the General Municipal Law and the Code of Ethics contained in Article I of this chapter, under such rules and regulations as the Board may prescribe. In addition, the Board may make recommendations with respect to the drafting and adoption of the Code of Ethics or amendments thereto upon request of the Council of the City of Batavia.

We will post more information as it becomes available.

Check out our earlier post for more information and background.

City Attorney George Van Nest has requested the city of Batavia Board of Ethics to convene to consider a potential "conflict of interest" regarding an upcoming vote by the City Council to should purchase a new sign for the mall — an original mall sign was removed by the city when constructing the City Centre.

In his letter, Van Nest states that a "councilman's wife is the manager of the mall," and although he does not refer to the "councilman" by name, the very same issue was taken up at the last meeting of the council on July 14. At that meeting, Council President Charlie Mallow asked Councilman Bob Bialkowski to recuse himself from voting on the purchase of the mall sign because Bialkowski's wife was an employee of the mall. Mallow said that since the mall merchants stood to benefit financially from the sign that would be paid for by the city, Bialkowski, too, stood to benefit since his wife is an employee.

Van Nest also states that city has, for some time, been in "discussions" with the Mall Merchants Association regarding various maintenance and expense issues, and that the mall merchants have "threatened litigation" against the city.

In addition to the issue of sign replacement, to the extent that the City and Mall are able to successfully resolve open issues, the parties will be required to negotiate and enter an agreement relative to a variety of matters. The details of any potential agreement will need to be reviewed, discussed and approved by City Council prior to execution.

Van Nest asks that the Board of Ethics convene "at the earliest opportunity" and issue an "advisory opinion" prior to the next meeting of the council on August 11.