Text of letter from George Marlin to Jon Kaiman

I am writing to you because I am alarmed by some of your public activities and instances of inappropriate public behavior since you have joined the NIFA Board of Directors.

As NIFA chairman you have two principal responsibilities—to schedule board meetings and to set meeting agendas (which could be changed by a majority vote). Otherwise you are one of seven equal board members.

I am troubled that you have concluded that as a NIFA board member you have authority to negotiate contract revisions with the Nassau County Police Union. Nowhere in the NIFA statute does it say that a board member can be a party to any negotiation. A NIFA board member cannot be part of a negotiation because NIFA has to judge any contract proposal. It cannot both judge the outcome of, and be part of, the same negotiation. To meet its fiduciary responsibility as a New York State Public Authority to properly evaluate a proposal, NIFA must be independent.

By your arbitrary decision to negotiate without legal authority or board approval, it logically follows that any NIFA director can independently negotiate with County unions. I, for instance, could initiate contract talks with the CSEA; another board member could do so with the sheriff’s union. Such activity would lead to utter chaos and would compromise the integrity of NIFA.

Another compelling reason why NIFA directors should not meet with Nassau PBA and other union officials: the unions are suing NIFA. What you have said in those meetings could jeopardize NIFA’s defense position and jeopardize our success to date in these legal proceedings. Worse yet, you participated in a negotiating session in December 2013 when PBA lawyers were present—the very lawyers who are handling the suit against NIFA. As every high school student or undergraduate who took a Business Law 101 course knows, you don’t speak at meetings where the plaintiff’s lawyers are present, especially without the benefit of the presence of the outside counsel handling the cases on our behalf. Participating in that meeting with PBA lawyers was reckless and irresponsible behavior.

This brings me to my next point: your rash public behavior on a number of occasions.

I am sure you recall that on Saturday, October 19, 2013, in the conference room of the County Executive, I endured, within earshot of County and PBA officials and in front of NIFA staff, your vulgar and boisterous verbal tirade directed against me. Frankly, I found your foul-mouthed outburst unprofessional under any circumstance, let alone in a public building and in the presence of NIFA staff.

I have also learned from sources outside of NIFA about your crude order to NIFA general counsel at a December meeting with County and PBA officials that was disgraceful, violated the rules of civility and put NIFA at risk of being considered a hostile work environment.

To tell NIFA counsel to “shut the f*** up” as he was attempting to give advice cautioning you about conversing and negotiating in the presence of PBA lawyers who are handling litigation against NIFA is inexcusable and compounds the error of participating in that negotiation in the presence of opposing counsel.

Your fescennine verbal abuse, in my judgment, damaged the integrity of a State agency and diminished the reputation of a dedicated public servant who has devoted years to protecting NIFA and to giving sound legal advice to his board member clients.

You may have gotten away with coarse offensive temper tantrums when you were a North Hempstead township official but you are now not only a director of a State agency but an employee of the State’s Chief Executive, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and by the nature of those posts are expected to live up to a higher standard of civil behavior.

I believe it is in the best interests of NIFA that you offer a public apology to NIFA staff members and cease negotiating with the PBA and any others who have pending litigation against NIFA. Negotiations are within the purview of the County administration, and they should act accordingly, subject to our oversight.

Finally, in reacting to this letter, I hope you do not resort, once again, to employing the puerile tactic of dismissing my concerns as “politically motivated.” As a NIFA director I have at all times taken my fiduciary obligations very seriously, and proudly stand on my four-year NIFA record.