Bott and Hoffman squander town funds in purchase of Electric Vehicle Chargers

In 2021, the North Greenbush Climate Smart Committee, chaired by former Councilwoman Mary Frances Sabo, obtained New York State and utility grant funding to finance the installation of two Level 2 Electric Vehicle  (EV) charging stations at the North Greenbush town hall on Main Avenue to give town residents and visitors the opportunity to charge their vehicles. The Committee envisioned the town would purchase electric vehicles in the future and Town Hall would be a convenient location for charging those cars and trucks.

In August of 2021,  the North Greenbush town board unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the Supervisor to sign an agreement with Potentia Management Group for this project. The installation of the charging stations was estimated to cost $20,685. Councilwoman Sabo secured $19,145 in grant funding and utility company rebates, so the net cost to the town would be only $1,500.

After the resolution for the project was approved, Supervisor Bott and Deputy Supervisor Hoffman refused to proceed with the project. Why was that? Partisan politics. As Republican members of the Town Board, Bott and Hoffman sought to deny a Democratic any kind of achievement during an election year and, as a strategic political maneuver, they would not advance any of the Climate Smart initiatives for fear that acknowledging the work efforts of Councilwoman Sabo on behalf of the Town would aid her re-election bid.

With the help of Bott and Hoffman, Councilwoman Sabo was defeated by their running mate and ally, Republican Jim Gordon. Yes, that’s the same Jim Gordon who was indicted this past April along with other Rensselaer County Republican operatives on federal criminal charges for voter fraud and intimidation during those same elections of 2021. Councilman Gordon faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

While Bott and Hoffman were wasting time on partisan politics during the 2021 election year to help their criminal friend get elected to the Town Board, the New York State rebate program for electric charging stations expired. So, Bott and Hoffman passed a new resolution to purchase the charging stations at the June 2022 meeting. The major difference between their work and the Sabo work – town residents would now pay $10,000 instead of $1,500 for the same two chargers. Town residents didn’t hear about those extra costs. Instead, Bott and Hoffman pat themselves on the back for their “hard” work.

This story is typical of the way Supervisor Bott and Councilwoman Hoffman run the town of North Greenbush. Bott and Hoffman should not prioritize their personal political agendas over spending taxpayer dollars wisely and the needs of town taxpayers. It’s time for a change. The residents of North Greenbush deserve better.