Leo Kaytes Sr. on truck lease controvery: Where are the savings? Where are the ethics?

To the editor: I am disappointed that the Village Board needed to revisit the truck lease/purchase controversy. Our position of “no comment” can no longer remain no comment after the whitewash article in The Warwick Advertiser. The facts are that when I learned that the Village had leased five trucks from Gordon Ford in Haverstraw, I called Mayor Newhard and asked why the three dealers in Warwick were not given an opportunity to bid on these trucks. It was not a question of whether it was legal for the Village to buy from a Village Board member’s place of work, but whether it was ethical. The Mayor assured me that this was a mistake and in a letter which is a public record, dated July 20, 2005, the Mayor wrote: “First, I want to thank you for pointing out our glaring error in dealing with municipal leases. I have carefully checked with our legal counsel, as well as the New York Council of Mayors’ legal counsel, on how lease contracts should be handled. They both interpreted that such expenditures, even if they are below state bid amounts, should be publicly bid. I apologize and assure you that our board will be more careful with the issue in the future. I believe the best form of government is one that readily understands its mistakes and willingly corrects its deficiencies and further champions the cause.” So that is where this should have all ended. But now, according to these past articles, an internal investigation was done and everything is legal. That is fine, but is it ethical? I attended the first meeting of the Warwick Independent Business Alliance and I heard the Mayor say that we should all support the mission of the WIBA and buy locally. I fully support that concept. The recent article in The Advertiser quotes the Mayor as saying this truck transaction was to save the village money, when, in fact, the same price could have been given at any Ford dealership. But instead of saving, consider the cost to the village when these five trucks need warranty service. It will take two drivers to deliver a truck 50 miles to Haverstraw, leave the truck and return to Warwick with another vehicle. Then, when the service is complete, repeat the trip. What is the cost of labor, drivers, gas, time, etc.? So where is the savings? If the Village chooses not to purchase locally, that is its choice. But the question of ethics is still unanswered. Leo Kaytes Sr. Warwick