Town Adds another Layer to the Bureaucracy--$80K Position Created for John Layne

June 10, 2011 He’s a politician with a past—and a building inspector with baggage, as well. And now he’s the Deputy Town Superintendent of Highways at a salary of $80,000 per year. At a time when all other levels of government are cutting, does Ramapo’s Dept. of Highways need an additional high-price functionary? St. Lawrence and his board think so.

At the Ramapo Town Board meeting on May 25, the Supervisor and his board unanimously decided to establish a new position, Deputy Town Superintendent of Highways, and then decided to fill the vacancy with John Layne of Airmont. At the bottom of the two resolutions there are the words: SOURCE OF FUNDS: OPERATING BUDGET 5110DB.3100—that’s an accounting euphemism for RESIDENT TAXPAYERS, the battered bottom line in Ramapo.

The Political Résumé
John Layne is well-known in Airmont. He was the village’s fourth mayor. In his last year, Layne lost his majority on the board when two trustees were soundly defeated in an election that was seen as a referendum on his administration. The loss of control ushered in one absurd showdown after another as the mayor transformed himself into a bad caricature of a local politician. He stopped showing up for most board meetings, and when asked by the Journal News about his 62% absence record he told Jim Walsh, "Whatever it is, they’re hung up on attendance percentages. I’m the mayor 24-7, and I attend to my responsibility." He just attended to it elsewhere.

By the spring of that year (2006) petitions were circulating, asking him to leave. A headline in the Journal News, April 25, 2006, provided a fix on public opinion: "Airmont mayor asked to quit."

Obstructionist filibusters, stunts like locking up all the flags in a closet before a public holiday, a level of uncivil dialogue at all the meetings when he did show up, the fax sent to the Archdiocese warning them about a meeting of the Hillside Avenue Preservation Association, and finally, his decision to not run in the next election.

Next public stop for the ex-mayor was Sloatsburg and the position of building inspector. More controversy and another springtime headline in the Journal News: "Ex-Sloatsburg trustee awarded $200,000 in lawsuit against village, inspector." The May 17, 2010 story began, "A former village trustee has been awarded $200,000 from a federal jury that found the then-building inspector retaliated against her. . . Layne was sued personally, as well as for his capacity as building inspector. Sloatsburg Mayor Carl Wright and the village’s lawyer, James Randasso, both said they disagreed with the jury’s verdict."

In Sloatsburg, the vox populi response to Layne took a storied kind of turn. Instead of circulating petitions to get rid of him, a website was established and residents were asked to call in and report on where Layne’s car was currently parked. Kind of a "Big Brother" in reverse.

Wind ahead 12 months and one week, and ex-mayor, ex-inspector Layne pops up again, being led by the hand by Supervisor St. Lawrence to his new office.

Why?
At a time when the economy is making shuddering, spasmodic attempts to get moving out of a near depression, you might ask why would our local government be adding unnecessary positions at $80,000 a year. Then again, for a board and supervisor that have had no problem sluicing $50 to $60 million into a sub-minor league team in a league that has a long history of failure, maybe it’s foolish to even ask the question. St. Lawrence apparently sees the money as his, no matter what the residents want, and he and his board will spend it any way they decide. By the way, board member Daniel Friedman is becoming more comical week by week as he struggles to don the disguise of a fiscally responsible public servant while voting for every, and I mean every, resolution for big spending that St. Lawrence puts in front of him.

Some sources tell us that the $80,000 for Layne will buy personal internal surveillance for St. Lawrence in the Highway Department. Many feel that Layne is being maneuvered in position to take over when the current Superintendent, Tony Sharan, retires. But whether it’s for a political periscope or the patronage-equals-control calculus that defines local politics, the spending and borrowing has maneuvered the town of Ramapo into an increasingly dangerous position.