NEWBURGH – City Manager Michael Ciaravino’s decision to wipe out all of the data on Newburgh’s cloud has prompted Councilwoman Cindy Holmes to demand an investigation.
Holmes noted that as a result of the manager’s decision, she lost her two years of city information and personal notes.
Ciaravino said he had reason to order the information from all council members deleted.
“It had to be done immediately,” Ciaravino said during a workshop session of the council Thursday night. “This had been going on for months. I would look on my own devices and I was told my location was being shared by Michael Vatter, my location was being shared with Cedric Brown, my location was being shared with other select council people. I would reset my own settings on my own phone and turn around and it was changed again. This had gone on for a number of months where I kept asking for it to be addressed.”
Vatter is the former fire chief who resigned on Wednesday night after being indicted on fraud charges. Brown was a former council member who made it clear he wanted Ciaravino replaced.
Ciaravino said all city officials’ cloud information was deleted, not just Holmes’.
Mayor Judy Kennedy explained to Holmes that nothing can be done if the data are gone.
“If it has been erased from the cloud, you can stand on this table and jump up and down and scream,” Kennedy said. “You can sue, you can do whatever you want, but if it’s out of that cloud, you are not going to get it back and that is the God’s truth.”
Holmes stood to her guns.
“I want an independent, forensic and legal investigation,” she demanded. “I don’t trust anybody.”
Holmes said if the city council will not back her up on an investigation, she will do whatever she must, to get answers.
