Orangetown Meetings Remain on Tuesdays

Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart promised during his re-election campaign to renew his push for town board meetings to be moved from Tuesday nights to Mondays.

His argument for the change was that Tuesdays conflict with to many other meetings that might be of interest to Orangetown residents. The Rockland County Legislature holds its meetings on Tuesdays, as do the boards of education in Pearl River and Nyack.

Stewart proposed a meeting schedule for 2014 with meetings on Mondays while the agenda for the meeting included a schedule with Tuesday nights. Stewart's proposal was defeated, 3-2, with Councilmen Denis Troy, Tom Morr and Paul Valentine voting against it. Stewart and Councilman Tom Diviny voted for it. The Tuesday schedule passed, 4-1, with only Stewart opposed.

"I find Tuesdays to be a lot more efficient," Morr said. "It gives the board more time to speak with department heads (before meetings). Maybe that's why other places do it Tuesdays as well. I think Tuesdays work better."

Troy has strongly opposed moving meetings back to Mondays, when they had been held for many years in the past. 

"You show up Monday and we'll meet on Tuesday," Troy said to Stewart. 

Council meetings were briefly moved to Thursdays in 2013 before being returned to Tuesday night because there were also conflicts on those nights.