Letter to The Editor:

I regret having to waste the taxpayers' time by addressing the recent blather submitted to the local media by Supervisor Carol Sweeney and Councilman Bruce Brent. First let me make it perfectly clear: NO ONE on the Town Board condones Mr. Hammond's actions. In my conversations with Mr. Hammond following the incidents in question, he has admitted to me he made inappropriate decisions. He understands his actions could not be an acceptable practice in the arena of public finance. Mr. Hammond passionately made the point to me he did not make these decisions for personal gain nor did he ever embezzle funds from the Town. The majority of the Town Board believes him. The majority of the Town Board also believes his actions were not malicious in nature.

The minority is playing out this disagreement as a difference of opinion concerning Mr. Hammond's action. This could not be further from the truth. The problem stems from three years of constant micro-management. The effects of such have led to the inability of committees to take on their responsibilities without constant oversight. It has created uneasiness between department heads and employees and has contributed to low morale. It has led to the present confrontation on the Town Board. Fortunately the town has professional employees who perform their duties in spite of the political atmosphere that surrounds them.

One criticism the majority of the Board has stated was the minority did not notify them of this investigation. The minority is hiding behind the fact that after "their" investigation the Town Attorney directed them to the Tioga County Sheriff's Office. At that point the minority was told to keep the investigation quiet. The majority understands the actions of the Attorney and the Sheriff's Department. The argument is the minority should have notified the entire Town Board about the incident. The entire Town Board should have discussed the options with the Attorney. The Parks Committee Chairman was not notified nor was the rest of the Board. Until this situation all investigations and litigation issues were presented to the entire board with the Town Attorney present.

I find it "interesting" without any proof the minority has questioned the integrity of the majority and insinuated that someone in the majority tipped off Mr. Hammond about the investigation. It is another weak justification for keeping the facts from the majority. Common sense would dictate if someone is doing wrong and gets called on it they may figure it out for themselves.

During the executive session in question, it was stated to me, Supervisor Sweeney along with her spouse were down at Hickories counting camp sites while the majority (accountable to the taxpayer) was not informed of the investigation. I find it outrageous that elected officials were left out of the loop while apparently others were not.

Mr. Hammond's statement about letting the homeless stay at the campground free was intentionally taken out of context. He never said that the homeless were living in RVs. One family lived in a RV at the park and was homeless because of a house fire. Also, investigating I found at least a couple of social welfare organizations have recommended the Hickories Park campground as a source of temporary accommodations. Upon further investigation it was determined none of the homeless owned RV's. Mr. Hammond's actions were inappropriate but were not self serving. A person has to "stretch the imagination" to understand why people would go this far to misrepresent facts to bolster their actions.

The alleged "unauthorized" installation of electrical service to sites near the river is another misrepresentation. In a parks committee meeting, and prior to the adoption of the 1998 budget, the option and costs of adding electrical service to camp sites by the river was discussed and approved. The entire board at the June 17, 1998, board meeting authorized payment for the electrical service. Reviewing the minutes of that meeting, I could not find one comment that objected to or questioned this project. It seems to me, though the board would have to pay the bill, a comment would have been made to contest the action. Also, Mr. Hammond was not under obligation to come before the Town Board for permission for this project.

When addressing the collection of fees for these sites, they are again taking out Mr. Hammond's comments of context. Yes, he rarely did collect for those sites because they were occupied mainly on the weekends when he was not on duty. Fees were mostly collected by a different employee and totaled $1,730 for the electric sites. A total of $6,061 for all river sites were collected at the time of his resignation.

I wish to share several monetary figures with you including those prior to Mr. Hammond's appointment as Park Superintendent. When Mr. Hammond started in 1990 the reported revenues for camping were approximately $15,000. In 1997, Camping Revenues totaled $63,500. At the time of his resignation he had deposited $59,080. During the same time period in 1997, approximately $44,900 was deposited, reflecting a 25% increase in 1998. In anticipation of good weather for the remainder of the camping season, one could speculate that revenues for the entire season could be the best year ever. Project out the 1997 total revenues 25% and you would expect Mr. Hammond to collect $79,500. As of September 30, 1998, total fees collected was $83,381. Anyone can come to a conclusion on what camping fees might be, but factors such as weather and activities in the area impact the bottom line. Mr. Hammond created a great atmosphere for all families throughout the town park system. There is no reasonable explanation to continue to drag this situation through the press. It can only be explained by megalomania out of control. With all the egregious acts going on in politics, you would think there are more important things to concentrate on. Why can't we let this individual get on with his life?