Democratic Comptroller March Gallagher says she has been seeking records from a county-funded personnel investigation of former Finance Commissioner Burt Gulnick since 2021. Gulnick resigned in March amid allegations that he embezzled money from the Hurley Recreation Association. He pleaded guilty to two counts of grand larceny earlier this month, admitting he stole nearly $100,000 from the non profit and from a campaign account owned by former County Executive Mike Hein.
Those charges are tied to Gulnick’s roles as a private citizen — but he faces multiple investigations into his 12 years as finance commissioner, too. Gallagher says she received multiple tips and launched her own investigation into claims that Gulnick committed time theft and other inappropriate behavior in 2021, around the same time then-County Executive Pat Ryan ordered a review of the matter. Gallagher says records from that report are crucial to her probe, but she hasn’t been able to wrest them from the county. She tried to subpoena the records last month with no result, so now she’s taking the matter to state Supreme Court.
“This is the way that we in government need to flesh out our roles and responsibilities when there’s disagreements about what the authority is," Gallagher explains.
“The issue in this lawsuit, from my perspective, is not about that work," says Metzger. "It’s really about the fact that she has requested information that is well beyond the boundaries of the authority of her office.”
Democratic County Executive Jen Metzger says she’s known about Gallagher’s investigation since she took office in January, and she supports it – but in a written statement last week, Metzger described the lawsuit as an “aggressive action” and accused Gallagher of overreaching her authority as comptroller.
Speaking with WAMC, Metzger says employee reviews are not typically made public, but to her knowledge, Gallagher was given a summary of the report’s results. Last month’s subpoena, according to Metzger, requested not just the whistleblower calls logs associated with Gulnick, but those from the county’s entire whistleblower hotline from 2019 forward. And in that case, Metzger says the county needs to put protecting whistleblower information first.
“This was on the advice of labor counsel. We did respond, and the response was that the subpoena was improperly filed, and in part, she was requesting information that was beyond the scope of her jurisdiction," Metzger notes. "Her office and I have bi-weekly check-ins, and we’ve had one in the time since, and this wasn’t brought up. The first I learned about this lawsuit was in a press release.”
“The letter they issued to us was from their attorney, saying, ‘Please do not contact my client on this matter, only work with my attorney’s office,'" says Gallagher. "So, I didn’t really have a choice.”
Gallagher maintains her document request is narrowly tailored to a specific time period based on tips received by her office. Gallagher adds multiple whistleblowers have sued the county over the past six months for discrimination and retaliation, allowing some of their testimony to be made public. After reading that testimony, Gallagher says it’s only more important that she gets info on what she feels could be well-founded claims against Gulnick.
Gallagher notes her office handles confidential material every day, but Metzger says they’ve been burned before. For example, Metzger says the comptroller’s office recently published a countywide payroll database that accidentally included private personnel info like bereavement leave and sick leave. Metzger says that information was quickly removed, but her point stands: it’s too risky.
“No person in public office, including the comptrollers, are immune from mistakes," says Metzger.
Both sides say they support each other’s work. At the heart of the issue, they say, is where their respective responsibilities and authorities end, and who is entitled to which documents. Metzger says Ulster County is still running on a relatively new charter: the county switched from a council-manager government to an elected executive branch in 2006. That makes Metzger the county’s third elected executive, and Gallagher its second elected comptroller. Gallagher says the charter gives her the authority to investigate, and it’s her duty to monitor financial risks to the county.
“I work on behalf of the taxpayer. I’m trying to make sure that taxpayer funds are spent well, that there’s no waste, fraud, or abuse. And this is fully within the scope of my work," Gallagher explains. "Again, this doesn’t have to be seen as contentious. This is going to a third party, the judiciary, to identify what is appropriately released in this circumstance.”
As for the county’s second elected executive, Democrat Pat Ryan is now the 18th district Congressman. On WAMC’s Congressional Corner, Ryan said he’s staying out of it.
“I’m gonna not weigh in on that whole back and forth there, other than to say that I think transparency is always important," says Ryan. "But we shouldn’t be settling these things in lawsuits and court. We’ve got to work together as partners in government at all levels, and be able to address things in that manner.”
The state comptroller’s office is also doing a forensic audit to determine whether Gulnick abused his power as finance commissioner. Metzger says that investigation is expected to conclude soon.
