To the Editor:
Thank you for your recent editorial regarding the Guilderland Town Board’s interview of candidates for boards and committees [“Democracy withers out of public view,” The Altamont Enterprise, Jan. 13, 2022].  

In early December, we scheduled the virtual interviews of 17 candidates for board and committee appointments. The interview committee consisted of three then-current town board members and two elected members who would assume board duties on Jan. 1.

In retrospect, because three current members are a legal quorum of the board, we should have issued public notice of these virtual interviews, and then entered into executive session. Open Meetings Law §105(1) (f) permits a public body to meet in private to discuss “the medical, financial, credit or employment history of particular person … leading to the appointment … of a particular person ….” Open Meetings Law §106(2) provides that minutes of an executive session are required for “any action that is taken by formal vote.”   

We had multiple well-qualified candidates for each position and, as with most interviews, there were back-and-forth arguments in support of candidates for each position. It would be highly unusual to have unanimity as we interviewed the candidates and discussed each position.

With two members not yet authorized to take action, there was no formal vote on any candidate and no minutes were taken. The appointments were formally voted on at the town board’s Jan. 3 organizational meeting.  

We are very pleased with the board’s final appointments, which included several residents who were not previously known by board members.

We seriously undertake our responsibilities for openness and transparency to the maximum extent possible and will follow the Open Meeting Law’s notice requirements for future interviews, but we are also committed to providing the Open Meetings Law’s privacy protections to persons seeking appointment.

Peter G. Barber

Rosemary Centi

Laurel Bohl

Christine Napierski

Amanda Beedle

Guilderland Town Board