Reproduced with permission of The Journal News.
EVALUATING THE EVALUATION
Feiner's self-appraisal is worthwhile, though gimmicky
Editorial
The Journal News
Published December 15, 2002
As menorahs, kinaras and Christmas trees alight, its a sigh that it's once again the time for the Greenburgh Town Board to assess whether Supervisor Paul Feiner hit or missed his self-imposed goals for the year.
The goals are used to determine Feiner's yearly compensation, which is based in part upon his performance. This year, Feiner failed to hit a bull's-eye, causing him to return $770 of his $110,000 salary to the town. Among the things Feiner failed to complete: opening an in-line skating area at East Rumbrook Park and installing speed bumps on residential streets.
This year, Feiner was successful in leading the effort to find a new Town Hall. The town is buying a building at 177 Hillside Ave., the current home of One Beacon Insurance, with plans to relocate its offices from the cramped building at Tarrytown and Knollwood Roads next year.
What was unique about this year's Town Board-led evaluation process is that Councilman Steve Bass decided to sit out the board's vote. Bass criticized the process, calling it a "publicity-stunt."
"The people have a right to review his performance every two years when he's up for re-election," Bass said before the assessment took place. "To sit around and decide what percentage of the supervisor's salary should be given (back) is not a good way to spend taxpayer time."
While we support the spirit of accountability and Greenburgh's process of evaluating progress, we have to agree that linking it to returning a portion of his salary is somewhat gimmicky that detracts from the seriousness of the effort.
For 2003, Feiner has come up with about 25 new goals, including tearing down the current Town Hall and expanding the library. Perhaps another goal should be to continue his mission of public accountability, but to subtract the "publicity stunt" element.