Is the Town of Olive's Sylvia Rozzelle Double Dipping or Skinny Dipping?

 Is Town of Olive Town Clerk Sylvia Rozzelle planning to double dip on her pension money and so ride the gravy train down Watson Hollow Road? Rumor has it that Rozzelle, who is running for town supervisor, is applying for a pension from the State of New York for her years with the Town of Olive as town clerk.  How much is enough?  The Town of Olive already pays its town supervisor more than does almost any other town in Ulster County.  The $50,000 paycheck for a part-time job is apparently not enough for Rozzelle, who also aims to collect almost $40,000 in pension money.  But what are the exact amounts?

The Democrats are fond of claiming that they believe in openness in government and in democratic processes.  But when it comes to the Democrats' pockets, they are notoriously averse to allowing public scrutiny. Let's see if Rozzelle responds to this Freedom of Information Law letter:

PO Box 130

West Shokan, NY 12494

October 2, 2013

Ms. Sylvia Rozzelle

Town Clerk, Town of Olive

PO Box 96

West Shokan, NY 12494

Dear Ms. Rozelle:

Under the New York Freedom of Information Law, N.Y. Pub. Off. Law sec. 84 et seq., I am requesting an opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of records that pertain to the computation of the pension benefit of Sylvia Rozelle.  These include all application forms to the State of New York and any other New York State pension fund and any estimates of or statements of actual amounts of pension benefits to be paid to Sylvia Rozelle. 

I also request all records stating the amount of annual salary currently paid to the Town of Olive Town Supervisor and the Town of Olive Town Clerk.

If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me if the cost will exceed $75.  However, I would also like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of salaries and pensions paid by the Town of Olive.  I am a journalist for The Lincoln Eagle as well as a citizen in the Town of Olive.  This information is not being sought for commercial purposes, although it is on the record and may be used for journalistic purposes.

 The New York Freedom of Information Law requires a response time of five business days.  If access to the records I am requesting will take longer than this amount of time, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records. 

 If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.

Thank you for considering my request.

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.