For any given Village of Montgomery meeting, residents can sign up and speak directly to the board for three minutes, a rule meant to maintain the meeting’s order and pacing. When a resident wanted to discuss the board’s protocol on Tuesday, July 23, and did not receive enough time to do so, she decided to continue talking beyond the three minutes, resulting in a noisy disarray between residents and board members.

Resident Karen DeCrosta previously spoke at the village’s April 16 meeting, during which she questioned the board’s continuity. She wanted to know how the mayor and trustees would maintain the board’s procedures, such as reading employee handbooks so that everyone understands the rules, especially given the additions to the board post-election. At the time, no one from the board provided her a sufficient answer.

“The first time I addressed this board was April 16 and I asked what mechanisms were in place to promote continuity for the board because you had new board members, new positions, and standing board members in new positions,” she said on July 23. “I mentioned board member handbooks, policy manuals, and village mission statements. What I got back from you was five seconds of dead silence and the look of deer in headlights from most of you.”

Following up on her initial comments, DeCrosta referenced an intense discussion from the village’s July 2 meeting regarding Mary McCabe, a resident who joined the Montgomery Senior Center board last June. Hembury, who was unaware that the senior center hired McCabe until he met with her, requested that she undergo background check and fingerprinting, even though neither procedure was listed in her contract. McCabe expressed frustration toward Hembury at the last meeting and felt that the mayor singled her out, emphasizing that the two had known each other for 31 years.

Bouncing off of this discussion, DeCrosta asked the board if outside organizations, such as the New York Blood Center, or volunteer groups like the General Montgomery Day (GMD) Committee require background checks or fingerprinting to operate in the village.

“I have a hypothetical question for the board: supposed the New York Blood Center asked you to set up an office in the village. You agree and allow them to rent space in a village-owned building because you have space and that’s good for you because it’s income,” DeCrosta said. Would the New York Blood Center staff need to be fingerprinted and background checked?”

Hembury stated that neither the NY Blood Center nor the GMD Committee would require those procedures as neither group receives money from the village. He asserted that since the village funds the senior center board, every new member moving forward should undergo extensive background review to ensure safety and financial responsibility.

“The New York Blood Center does not need money for this, but the senior center does. The senior center’s getting money from us to run it,” Hembury said. “And members of the General Montgomery Day Committee are volunteers.”

When DeCrosta tried to respond, Hembury told the resident that her three minutes to speak were finished and requested that she sit down. DeCrosta asked to continue going, seeing as very few residents signed up for this meeting’s public comment, but Hembury declined and asked her again to sit down. DeCrosta decided to ignore his requests and continued speaking directly to the other residents.

“I’m used to a 40-minute time slot. Remember, I was a teacher,” she joked. “There were only two people tonight who had to speak to the board, it’s not like you had 10 or 11. These people deserve to hear what I want to say.”

DeCrosta asserted that the board’s decisions were “arbitrary, capricious, and self-serving,” emphasizing that the mayor and trustees should follow guidelines and carefully consider every decision. She used the last meeting’s resolution, which modified the village’s pickleball court hours, as an example, and she felt that the board should have spent more time thinking over the decision.

As Hembury and Village Attorney William Frank told DeCrosta to sit down multiple times, several other residents chimed in, applauding and encouraging DeCrosta to continue speaking. Hembury attempted to ignore DeCrosta and continue with the meeting, but he failed to do so after constant interruptions from both DeCrosta and the audience. After a few more minutes, DeCrosta finished her comments and sat down, prompting one more applause from residents. Before the crowd settled down, a few individuals shouted “Are you happy now?” and “This is embarrassing” toward the mayor.

In a post-meeting conversation, Hembury asserted that he wants residents to speak during public comment while adhering to the three-minute time limit, though he is willing to amend the rules if future sessions become hectic.

“We were not going to forcibly remove DeCrosta from the meeting. We ended up letting her finish,” Hembury said on July 29. “There are 171 municipalities in New York State that don’t allow public comment; I don’t want the village to join that number. I want people to speak and hope that residents respect our rules, but I may consider something if this behavior continues.”

Regarding continuity, Hembury stated that all board members follow the protocol in their handbooks and do their best to discuss a decision before motioning on it. He also wants to enforce background checks for all village employees pre-employment, including future mayors and trustees before taking office.

“We follow the rules, which have been successful for us and other communities,” he said. “Since taking office, I’ve wanted all village employees to go through background checks; we just haven’t had a lot of people hired since. My number one concern is public safety and I want to make sure that our employees are protected.”

“I also think that village officials should go through a background check before being elected,” he added.

DeCrosta did not respond when requested for a comment.