A NO BRAINER IF THERE EVER WAS ONE: STOP DWI ADMINISTRATOR OR POLITICAL APPOINTEE?
Birmingham Calls for Elimination of Chief of Staff Position in Favor of Keeping STOP DWI Administrator on the Job
CARMEL, NY – Putnam County Legislator Dan Birmingham (R/C/I- Brewster) is calling on his colleagues to protect the position of the Stop DWI administrator in the 2010 county budget. County Executive Robert Bondi has eliminated the Stop DWI administrator in favor of keeping a political appointment in his own office – that of the County Executive’s Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff position has been vacant for months due to the resignation of the prior incumbent.
“With the recent DWI crashes in the Hudson Valley — in some cases wiping out entire families — for the County Executive slash a position vital to the safety and education of our families is inexcusable. The county executive has operated without a chief of staff for several months now. Its clear that the position is not essential and we all know Bob Bondi has the work ethic to do without a chief of staff,” said Birmingham.
The Stop DWI administrator’s duties include meeting with students and public groups to educate the public about drinking and driving, raising public awareness, compiling vital statistics to help law enforcement better combat drunk driving and coordinating efforts in the county to decrease the number of DWI crashes. Further, the current STOP DWI administrator is a recognized expert in the field of alcohol and substance abuse having worked in the field for years.
Putnam law enforcement agencies held several DWI checkpoints over the Labor Day holiday weekend which resulted in 35 summonses issued and 3 DWI arrests.
“It’s clear that DWI is a growing problem in our community,” Birmingham continued. “We should be increasing our efforts against DWI, not deleting needed positions that save lives.”