Resident accuses Poughkeepsie officials of secrecy, cites open meetings concerns

Laurie Sandow, a resident of South Grand Avenue in Poughkeepsie’s Eighth Ward, used the Sept. 2 Common Council public-comment period to accuse council members and city officials of poor communication and secrecy and to urge compliance with open-meetings rules.

"Open meetings law declares that it is essential to the maintenance of a democratic society," Sandow said during her remarks, quoting the statute in arguing that public business should be performed openly. She told the council she lives in the Eighth Ward and accused some council members of failing to notify constituents about ward meetings and of relying on other wards' social media posts rather than direct outreach.

Sandow alleged that the mayor had "illegally blocks access to her social media" and said the corporation counsel had not acted to bring administration and council members into "transparent, accountable, and responsible law abiding behavior and performance." Those claims were presented as Sandow's assertions; the meeting transcript does not include responses from the mayor's office or corporation counsel during the public-comment period.

She also criticized what she described as missing data for elected and appointed officials in a resolution on work-day reporting and asked why names and data were absent. Sandow said public questioning of government officials is necessary for accountability and accused some council members of treating public scrutiny as negativity rather than accountability.

Sandow’s comments came during the meeting’s public participation segment; the council did not take formal action in response during the session recorded in the transcript. The transcript does not provide supporting documents or independent verification of the allegations reported by Sandow.