POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County’s proposed purchase of property at 26 Oakley Street in Poughkeepsie to provide services to the homeless has been threatened with a lawsuit by the Poughkeepsie Common Council.
The council sought to hire outside counsel, using taxpayer dollars, to file a lawsuit against the county to stop the proposal, which is still being considered by the Dutchess County Legislature. The resolution said in part:
“the City of Poughkeepsie, and in particular the historically-Black “Northside” neighborhood of the City, are already overburdened by the disproportionate externalities of Dutchess County facilities including but not limited to an exponential expansion of the Dutchess County Jail, as well as the creation and placement of a temporary shelter for the unhoused population referred to as the ‘PODS’, which have led to the aggregation of persons in need of services and encouraged the creation of encampments of unhoused persons across the Northside, as well as an increase in reports of persons struggling with mental illness defecating and using intravenous and other substances on the properties of nearby residents;”
The council claimed the need for an outside law firm was because the city’s own legal department was unable to do the work in a timely fashion due to a lack of manpower.
Mayor Rob Rolison vetoed the proposal for the council to once again hire their own law firm as opposed to using city attorneys.
Rolison chastised the council for the way in which the resolution was proposed. His veto message, in part, said, “the least transparent of the methods of bringing forward a Resolution was used – one that gives the public no idea whatsoever of what is being proposed, or its potential significance to the city, its taxpayers, and stakeholders. As a result, the Resolution, in its final form, was never even read into the record.”
Rolison continued, saying “The substance of the Resolution is also problematic, as it calls for ‘extensive legal research; litigation planning, discovery and other legal services: in preparation for possible adversarial proceedings against Dutchess County...‘ The extensive list of issues identified this course of action will come at a considerable cost to city taxpayers.” Rolison also noted that the council failed to submit a potential cost of the litigation, which is required.
“In my view, the best outcome for our residents, our homeless citizens, and for the city as a whole will not be found inside a courtroom,” Rolison said in issuing the veto.
Common Council Majority Leader Evan Menist said the council has overridden the mayor’s veto and are in the process of selecting a law firm to pursue the lawsuit against the county.
