The Hempstead Town Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to rescind a controversial cap on outside income for council members passed under former Supervisor Anthony Santino.
The Hempstead Town Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to rescind a controversial cap on council members’ outside income that passed last year as part of former Supervisor Anthony Santino’s ethics reform package.
Santino’s package capped outside income for members at $125,000 a year, which would have precluded current council members Erin King Sweeney and Bruce Blakeman — both attorneys — from continuing to serve on the board.
Before the vote last September, Santino offered an amendment that to council members making more than $125,000 to stay on the board, provided they disclosed all of their clients to the town. King Sweeney said that disclosing all clients would make it difficult for her and Blakeman’s firms to do business.
Members of the public, as well as the activist group Reclaim New York, voiced their support for rescinding the measure at Tuesday’s hearing.
“I am all for this ridiculous resolution being voted against and done away with,” said Diane Madden, an East Meadow resident, adding that she hoped the board would take a critical look at the rest of the ethics package passed under Santino and make further reforms.
Brakeman, now the town's deputy supervisor, said the board would address the rest of the board’s ethics rules soon, and that the income cap needed to be dealt with immediately to avoid potential legal challenges and fees for the town.
Among the council members who previously voted for the income cap as part of Santino's ethics package, but who now voted to rescind it, were Anthony D’Esposito and Dennis Dunne, both Republicans, and Dorothy Goosby, a Democrat.