Colleen Walsh
1. Freedom Of Information Compliance And Knowledge Ratings:
Pelham Town Clerk Colleen Walsh has failed to provided a response to all of our Freedom of Information Requests for access to public documents under New York States FOI laws.
It appears that Colleen Walsh doesn’t know how to respond to a simple FOI request for access to a public document. After many written and phone inquiries the town had the attorney listed bellow to respond to our FOI request for the town clerk’s compensation.
While it is good that after nine days we finially got a copy of the current budget with Ms. Walsh’s pay listed, it is bad that the honest hard working taxpayers had to pay for a Manhattan attorney to do Ms. Walsh’s job for her.
Thomas Richard Kleinberger, Esq
411 Fifth Avenue, 9th Floor
New York, New York 10016
(917) 326-5523 (Telephone)
(917) 326-5525 (Fax)
tkleinberger@adamsre.com
But the attorney for the town attorney is very temperamental. When we emailed a FOIL of his invoices to the town.
We wanted to learn just how much Pelham’s attorney was was pocketing in fees due to Ms. Walsh’s incompetence when it came to responding to FOI requests for documents.
In less than an hour of getting a Freedom of information request for copies of any invoices from the Pelham Town Attorney responded to the email saying,”In future any FOIL requests will only be addressed by the Town if in a physical writing (i.e. a letter).”
We had to to respond to Thomas Kleinberger’s mini meltdown with…..
“New York’s courts have repeatedly ruled that every town subject to the Freedom of Information Law, and must accept emailed FOILS provided that it has the ability to receive requests for records from the public and transmit records by means of email, is required to do so.“
Some have joked in Pelham that the hussy fit throwing Mr. Kleinberger got his law license at Sears.
Town Clerk Colleen Walsh was not just unresponsive with us. When the League Of Women Voter’s sent her a questionnaire in the 2015 election she refused to respond.
From The 2015 LWV Voting Guide:
TOWN CLERK – PELHAM Term: 2 years; Salary: $5,500
Candidate: Colleen W. Walsh Party: R, REF
Questions: – no response –
Sadly abuse and corruption can flourish in Pelham and in New York when government officials feel entitled and refuse to follow New York State’s Freedom Of Information statutes that allow taxpayers and the media to bring accountability and transparency to local government.
Pelham Town Clerk Colleen Walsh would have gotten a rating of FAILURE, but Pelham Town Attorney Thomas Richard Kleinberger was able to provide a copy of the 2016 budget listing her pay.
So we are tentatively given Ms. Walsh TWO STARS as we wait to see if Mr. Kleinberger can try not to be so emotional and complete the other open FOIL requests, when he returns from vacation next month.
However, if we could we give Colleen Walsh the Bubble Headed Bleach Blonde Award, because she need to get TomKleinberger, Esq to complete a simple Freedom Of Information Request asking for her pay as an elected official.
What good is a town clerk that doesn’t have the skill set need to respond to an FOI request for a public document. It is laughable that she uses the email address toptownclerk@aol.com.
2. Email Address For Filing FOI Requests
Or
| townclerk@townofpelham.com |
3, Mailing Address For Filing FOI Requests:
Town Clerk
34 Fifth Avenue Town Hall
Pelham, New York 10803
4. Experience:
UNRESPONSIVE: We got no response from Pelham Town Clerk Colleen. Walsh on our information request about her experience.
From the internet we learned Ms. Walsh is a fitness trainer who provides personal training and group fitness classes and has sometimes called her classes,”Sun and Moon Fitness”.
She even made a video called “Strong Mamas/Fit Families”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F09pSoOUWq4
Colleen Walsh
Ms. Walsh apparently has a “Corporate Wellness Coaching” Certificate and a “Holistic Life Coaching” Certificate from some place called the Spencer Center.
Many in Pelham say that Ms. Walsh’s fitness training experience doesn’t give her the experience needed to bring the accountability and transparency that Pelham desperately needs.
Honest hardworking town residents are grossly over taxed and pay too much for often poorly delivered services. This is because they can’t access to the public documents and information they need to bring about real change in the town.
5. From The Pelham Town Website:
FAILING WEBSITE – GRADE
It looks like that as of the date of this post Town Clerk Colleen Walsh has failed to have the town website updated with the latest information about the Pelham Town Clerk’s Office, which lists another person, Timothy Case, as the Pelham Town Clerk.
The Clueless Ms. Walsh has been the Town Clerk since January 2014, so for 2 years And 7 months she has listed someone else as the Town Clerk on her Town Of Pelham Web Page.
Worse yet the Town’s web Page is not ADA compliant.
The Pelham Town Website Reads:
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The Town Clerk is an elected official and serves for a term of two (2) years. The Town Clerk is charged with custody of all legal records, books and papers of the Town and is responsible for the recording of all of the Town Board’s Proceedings and decisions. In this regard, the Town Clerk’s charged with publishing items tobe considered by the Town Board during its meetings and is charged with posting all notices required by law. The Town Clerk supervises all town wide general elections, primaries related to those elections, conducted in the Town of Pelham pursuant to applicable laws. Applications for absentee ballots, and voter registration forms are available in the Town Clerks Office. The Town Clerk also serves as Registrar of Vital Statistics, which includes records of Marriages, birth, deed records as early as 1860. Current birth & death records are kept in the Village of Pelham and the Village of Pelham Manor. The Town Clerk’s office also issues Marriage licenses. It is necessary to make an appointment to obtain a Marriage license.(9:30 AM – 3:30 PM Monday – Friday) Please call (914) 738-0777. The fee for a Marriage license is $40.00. Marriage Transcripts are $20.00. Dog Licenses are available at the Town Clerks Office for Village of Pelham residents. The requirements for the license are (1) Village of Pelham Resident, (2) updated paperwork on dog, which should include current rabies information and proof of neutered/spayed, (3) Owners I.D. The fee for a dog license is $16.00 (neutered/spayed) $23.00 (unaltered) $5.00 for a lost tag. ****Pelham Manor Residents must go to Village of Pelham Manor (Village Clerk at 4 Penfield Place) to acquire a Disabled permit and/or Dog license. If you have any questions please call 914/738-8820. **** If you are a new voter, have moved since the last election, or wish to change your registration you may do so by visiting the Town Clerks office. Timothy Case
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6. Media Reports
Extra, Extra Read All About It!!!!
Pelham’s Privileged Political Class Wins Again!!!!!!
Only 54 People For For Colleen Wash To Be Town Clerk!!!!
DAILY VOICE: Pelham Residents Vote For Uncontested Candidates
Voters Tuesday turned out to vote for Pelham supervisor, town clerk, two council seats and receiver of taxes — all of which were uncontested.
With 10 percent of the vote counted at 9:30 p.m. Supervisor Peter DiPaola Jr had 56 votes – 100 percent of all votes cast. DiPaola ran on the Republican line.
Republican Colleen Walsh received 54 votes – 100 percent – for town clerk…..
Please Read More Here:
http://pelham.dailyvoice.com/politics/pelham-residents-vote-for-uncontested-candidates/412525/
7. Notes
This Ratings Page Has Been Updated With Additional Information
About Pelham, New York
Pelham is an inner-ring suburban town in Westchester County, New York, approximately 14 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 12,396.
Historically, Pelham was composed of five villages and became known as “the Pelhams”. Pelham currently contains two independently incorporated villages: the Villages of Pelham and Pelham Manor
Approximately 28 minutes away from Grand Central Terminal by the Metro-North train, Pelham is home to many New York City commuters and has an active social community for its residents.
In 1654, Thomas Pell bought the area within the present-day town from theSiwanoy Indians. He named his manor “Pelham” in honor of his tutor, Pelham Burton.
Pelham was incorporated as a town on March 7, 1788. It included all of City Island and present-day Pelham Bay Park east of the Hutchinson River. In 1895, the town was reduced in size to its current boundaries. In 1891, the village of Pelham Manor incorporated. In 1896, the village of North Pelham and the village of Pelham incorporated. In 1975, the villages of North Pelham and Pelham merged, forming the present village of Pelham. The Village of Pelham and the Village of Pelham Manor share several services such as school and recreational activities.
There is a grassroots movement to continue the consolidation of services in order to reduce taxes.
The Pelham Picture House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010..
Pelham is home to four elementary schools (two located in each village), one middle school, and one high school. The elementary schools are Hutchinson, Colonial, Siwanoy, and Prospect Hill. Pelham Middle School and Pelham Memorial High School gather students for all of Pelham. These are all part of the Pelham Union Free School District. There are also several private and religious based schools. Since 1948, New York City has paid the district to educate children who live in a small strip of land between Pelham and Pelham Bay Park that is part of the Bronx due to a boundary error, as doing so is less expensive than sending school buses there….
Please Read More Here: