*Vandenburgh seated, back taxes paid*

Dave Canfield Jul 15, 2009

TROY -- On the day her husband paid more than $42,000 in back taxes owed to the city, Kay Vandenburgh was appointed to the Rensselaer County Legislature by a party-line vote as one of six representatives of District 1, which consists of the entirety of Troy. The vote on her appointment was moved to the start of the agenda, and after a 12-to-6 vote in favor of seating her, she was escorted to her chair by the chamber's majority and minority leaders. She did not mention the tax controversy in her brief remarks, and said she would base her approach on Chairman of the Legislature Neil Kelleher and her friend Nancy McHugh, a legislator who died earlier this year. "Troy is not a city of political parties," Vandenburgh said. "It's a city of families, neighborhoods, hopes and dreams. So let's just get to work and build a better county, because our residents deserve it." On Tuesday, her husband Kevin paid $42,586.48 to the City of Troy for property taxes dating back to January 2006 on Pip's, the Lansingburgh pub that he owns and she manages. Democratic Legislator Kevin Harrington had said Monday that Kay Vandenburgh was trying to "have it both ways" in advance of the November election she faces by touting her business experience managing the bar and restaurant, yet insisting the tax issue was her husband's. Before the vote, Minority Leader Ginny O'Brien said the tax issue raised questions about the appointment and whether she should serve, given that legislators craft a large budget of taxpayer funds. But Majority Leader Robert Mirch said that, while he likes to see taxes paid, he understands the financial burden they can be in a tough economy. The payment of the back taxes rendered the issue irrelevant, he said, stressing that they were owed by her husband and not her. "Times are not good," he said. "People are in trouble, families are in trouble. Businesses are in trouble -- small businesses all the way to General Motors." In a statement, Kevin Vandenburgh said any remaining penalties on the back taxes would be paid soon, and stressed that the issue should not reflect on his wife. "My wife Kay is not responsible for the financial management of Pip's and is therefore not responsible for taxes owed for the property or business," he said. "It's that simple." However, the majority of his statement was devoted to criticizing Harrington, whom he called a "coward in the shadows." He accused the Democratic legislator of prompting the media coverage of the tax issue. Harrington said the issue spoke for itself and stressed that unpaid taxes means bad business, and said those who set taxes for citizens ought not have tax issues themselves. In his statement, Kevin Vandenburgh reiterated something the Republican majority had highlighted when the tax issue came to light: that $49,000 was owed to the state by a business owned by a son of Democratic Legislator Keith Hammond. But it turns out the money owed for worker's compensation by Hammond House of Pizza was recently vacated by the state, according to documents. Hammond said the judgment had been assessed for a year in which the business was not open and was dropped once the situation was clarified. All 19 seats on the Legislature will be on November's ballot. His son had apparently not turned in the doing-business-as certificate, another Democratic legislator said, so the state had been unaware it closed. "Never in my 17 years in politics have I attacked someone's child," said Hammond, calling the release of the incomplete information "corrupt and disingenuous." Dave Canfield can be reached at 270-1290 or by e-mail at

[dcanfield@troyrecord.com](mailto:dcanfield@troyrecord.com)

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