A Quiet start to the year, and a subtle question about accountability

January 20, 2025.

The Financier.

The start of a New Year and a new blog for New Paltz.

NewPaltz.Works is going to report on local government meetings and we’re starting with the The January 14, 2025 Police Commission meeting marked the start of a new era of public oversight in New Paltz.

Supervisor Amanda Gotto chaired the meeting alongside Deputy Supervisor Kitty Brown and Councilmembers Edgar Rodriguez, Esi Lewis, and Julie Seyfert. Chief Sutton gave a brief monthly report: two commendations, one incident involving defensive actions.

It was a short meeting — under an hour — and modest in scope because much of the meeting was in executive session. But there were signs of important issues bubbling just below the surface brought to the floor by local resident Tom Jelliffe who has been on a bit of a band wagon to increase community involvement and transparency here. The moment that lingered during public comment, when local resident Tom Jelliffe asked whether discussions around police personnel evaluations — which are currently held in Executive Session — might, at some point, be open to public observation or participation.

It wasn’t a demand. It was a question.

And though the Commission acknowledged the topic, there was no follow-up discussion.

For those of us who care about systems — environmental or institutional — that moment matters. Because when an informed and engaged resident ask whether the public has a role in oversight, and the answer is silence, that is itself an answer.

There was no debate. No vote. But it was the kind of moment that reminds us why these meetings — even the quiet ones — deserve to be attended, documented, and reflected upon…which is exactly what NewPaltz.Works plans to do.

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