By EJ Conzola II
Just two months after new Hartford Town Supervisor Scott Hahn rode into office on a wave of discontent over a controversy that wracked the community, he found himself embroiled in a new imbroglio in his first meeting in the supervisor’s post.
But unlike the prior controversy, which raged over several months, Hahn quelled the most recent brouhaha in less than two weeks.
The issue flared when Hahn, during the town’s annual organizational meeting to start the year, appointed Brian O’Hara to the position of town enforcement officer, displacing longtime enforcement officer Mark Miller. However, Town Board member Barbara Beecher – whom Hahn had defeated in the race to succeed Dana Haff as supervisor – objected, saying the authority to fill the position lay with the entire board, not the supervisor.
Hahn cited the position’s job description, which he said states the enforcement officer serves at the pleasure of the supervisor. But Beecher cited state Town Law and longtime precedent in Hartford that gave the power to fill the post to the board.
The town’s website states the enforcement officer “is appointed by the Town Board and serves at the pleasure of the same.”
Hahn initially argued that the law cited by Beecher applied to a code enforcement officer, which requires significantly more training than an enforcement officer.
“I don’t read it the same way you do,” Hahn said of the state law.
A code enforcement officer is empowered to enforce state and local building codes. A code officer must have a background in construction and additional training in state regulations.
An enforcement officer enforces town ordinances. At times, that may touch on building-related projects – for example, a town regulation requiring a building permit before construction can move forward. The enforcement officer does not have the power to issue the permit, which is done by Washington County, but can make sure the permit is obtained.
There are no specific training requirements for the enforcement post.
After consulting with the town’s legal counsel, Hahn said he was informed the appointment power did in fact rest with the board.
“That was a mistake on my part,” Hahn acknowledged at a subsequent special Town Board meeting called to address the dispute.
Between the Jan. 16 organizational meeting at which he was named enforcement officer and the Jan. 29 special meeting, O’Hara resigned from the position. The only other candidate was Miller, who was reappointed to his old post by a 3-2 vote, with Hahn and Deputy Supervisor Darwin “Casey” Arlen voting no.
Hahn and Miller have clashed previously, after Miller — accompanied by Beecher — visited Hahn’s home to check on a deck being built there early in the supervisor’s campaign. Hahn accused Miller of targeting him because he was challenging Beecher for the Republican nomination for supervisor.
“I’m not going to be intimidated,” Hahn said at an April Town Board meeting. “I’m not going to be bullied.”
Miller defended his visit, saying, “It was not a political hit job. I don’t get involved in politics.”
“I just follow protocol, that’s all,” Miller said at the time.
Miller addressed the dispute indirectly while answering questions from Arlen before the vote on his reappointment.
He said he tries to find a balance between the desires of individual property owners and the requirements put in place to protect all residents of the town.
“I’m not out there to make friends, but sometimes you step on toes,” he said.
Miller’s reappointment did not completely quell the controversy.
Former Town Board member Jennifer Perez raised concerns about the timing of the special meeting, which was held at noon. The time made it difficult for working people to attend and voice their concerns about the situation, she said at the special meeting.
Hahn noted that the board can meet at any time with proper notice – which was given, he said – and that the meeting time was chosen in an effort to put the issue to bed as quickly as possible.
“We just wanted to get in here and rectify the wrong,” Hahn said.
Hahn was elected in large part because of the controversy surrounding the Town Board’s handling of contract negotiations with employees of the town Highway Department. The negotiations dragged on for roughly four years before an agreement was reached; many members of the community – including Hahn – blamed the town’s intransigence on several key issues for the lengthy negotiations and criticized the board at several meetings in late 2022 and early 2023.
Beecher was a member of the town’s negotiating team.
