City Council reappoints four Watertown Ethics Board members

Dec. 18—WATERTOWN — The four Ethics Board members who recommended ousting City Councilman Cliff G. Olney III from office earlier this year survived their reappointments on Monday night.

In separate votes for each member, the council voted, 3-2, to reappoint Ethics Board members Stephen A. Jennings, Cary J. Parker, Yvonne F. Reff and Suzanne C. Renzi-Falge to another one-year term.

Departing council member Patrick J. Hickey joined Mayor Jeffrey M. Smith and Councilwoman Sarah V. Compo Pierce to keep them on the board. Council members Lisa A. Ruggiero and Olney voted against the reappointments.

The three did not comment Monday night about why they voted for the four reappointments.

The Ethics Board members will serve until Dec. 31, 2024.

Before the vote, Olney criticized the board's recommendation to remove him from office, contending that he never had a chance for "due process" to answer to the charges against him.

He was never given a chance to offer evidence, witnesses or an argument to the Ethics Board before its members recommended his ouster from office, he said.

"I'm voting no for all of them," Olney said.

In his complaint, Smith accused Olney of breaking council rules by making executive session material public.

After the mayor filed the complaint against Olney, the city's ethics board returned in September with a recommendation that Olney be removed from office.

Olney also was accused of benefiting from the city's purchase of the former Watertown Golf Club for $3.4 million because the controversial deal would end a possible lawsuit against him.

During his 10-minute argument, Olney stressed that former City Attorney Robert J. Slye determined there was no pending lawsuit against him and that state Supreme Court Judge James P. McClusky ruled it was a legal deal.

Ruggiero has questioned some of the validity of the Ethics Board findings, citing that its report contained some incorrect information about the matter.

The new City Council will decide whether to pursue the Ethics Board complaint. The council — with Councilmen-elect Benjamin P. Shoen and Robert O. Kimball taking office on Jan. 1 — could decide whether Olney is culpable.

Council members also would decide Olney's punishment — whether to remove, censure or acquit him. The City Council also could ignore the ethics board recommendation altogether and do nothing.

It would cost about $10,000 to conduct an investigation by the council and weeks to complete. It would be similar to a criminal trial. An independent attorney would handle the probe.

In other action, City Council members:

Unanimously agreed to appoint Eric F. Wagenaar, the deputy to the garrison commander on Fort Drum, as the new city manager, replacing Kenneth A. Mix who leaves at the end of the month.

They approved a two-year contract with Wagenaar, who starts his new job with the city Dec. 30, a day after Mix leaves.

In the first year of the contract, Wagenaar will be paid an annual salary of $153,000, with it increasing to $158,000 in the second year.

The council has given the Chaumont resident six months to move into the city, with another six-month option if it's needed.

In other action, council members also unanimously agreed to a $1.1 million bond to purchase a pump fire engine for the fire department. The department plans to place an order for the fire engine before the end of the year in order to save $60,000.

It will take 500 days to get the fire engine delivered to the city.

It was the last meeting for Mayor Smith, Councilman Hickey and Mix. They are all leaving office on Dec. 31.