The Village Of Brewster Board of Trustees met last night, June 7, and their first order of business was passing a resolution asking for Trustee Erin Meagher to resign from her position on the board. That resolution was passed by the four Board members in attendance and stems from Miss Meagher's recent plea of guilty to a charge of Petit Larceny in Carmel Town Court late last month. Miss Meagher was originally charged with felony theft in March by the Putnam County District Attorneys office after several members of the Mahopac/Carmel Chamber cooperated with the District Attorney's Office in an investigation into the Chambers finances. The District Attorney and the Chamber Board alleged that Executive Director Meagher used the Chamber debit card to make unauthorized purchases for personal use. She was summarily fired from her position as Executive Director immediately upon her arrest.
After passing the resolution Mayor Schoenig originally decided against reading into the minutes Miss Meagher's email statement regarding that resolution because of the spelling and grammatical errors. After several members of the public questioned that decision and said they had a right to know since Miss Meagher was not in attendance, the Mayor read her response.
Mr. Schoenig then read Miss Meagher's email statement in its entirety, a photo is attached to this article. In summary, Miss Meagher was defiant in her statement "to their call, I say No. I will not yield to partisan political pressure and base manipulation of the public. I will continue to represent my constituents as is my sworn duty". She went on to add "due to the hysteria caused by the political usage of the Official Village of Brewster Facebook page and other interference, I do not have faith that my presence at tonight's meeting will serve any purpose but further disruption and deviation from the duties of this body (Village Board). Therefore, I will not be attending tonight's meeting."
Upon concluding that reading Mayor Schoenig then read his own statement reiterating several facts of the circumstances regarding Miss Meagher's guilty plea and concluded with "we (Village Trustees) all stand in this courtroom and take an oath of office to uphold the Constitution and the laws of NY State, on this she failed. We (the Board) feel it is in the best interest of the Village of Brewster that she resign. She has lost public trust". He then went on to add that the Board would be asking for Miss Meagher's resignation at every Board meeting. The remaining board members along with the 12-15 members of the public all felt that Miss Meagher should "do the right thing and resign".
As Miss Meagher refused to attend the meeting no further action was taken as Mayor Schoenig pointed out in his opening statement, "The only way to remove a trustee is if they were found or plead guilty to a felony" in accordance with NY state law but again said the Board will ask her to resign at every meeting.
Several members of the public expressed shock and outrage that Miss Meagher believes she can carry out her duties as trustee after the incident. One spectator identified only as Paul, going so far as to say "She ran as an adult, wanted to be treated like an adult and she should now act like an adult and resign". That sentiment was echoed by several others in attendance and all were outraged that she refused to attend the meeting and considered it a dereliction of duty and a slap in the face to the people she purports to represent.
The next village Board of Trustees meeting is June 25th at 730 pm in the Village Offices located at 50 Main Street.
Related Stories:
Erin Meagher Responds to Mahopac Chamber Case & Village of Brewster's Resignation Request
Village of Brewster Asks for Meagher's Resignation
Brewster Trustee, Meagher Pleads Guilty in Mahopac Chamber Case
Village of Brewster Responds to Allegations Against Trustee
Village of Brewster Trustee and Chamber CEO Accused of Embezzling Funds