KINGSTON – Ulster County Executive Michael Hein vetoed the county legislature’s law that would have changed the way members of the county Board of Ethics would be appointed and could be dismissed.
The bill would give the legislature the power to appoint a majority of
the board members with no oversight or independent confirmation, noted
Hein in his veto message.
“The net effect to this law is a disservice to our citizens and opens the door to potential future corruption,” Hein said in announcing the veto on Thursday. “It would create a scenario where there was the potential for corruption in the future and the whole thing to be rubber stamped. I can’t allow that to happen for the people of our community.”
The county executive said all members of the ethics board should face confirmation by a body separate from the authority appointing them as they currently do.
The legislature voted 17 to 5 in June to revise the ethics board. That’s one vote more than the super majority to override the veto, if no votes change.
