Supervisors censure Brad Magowan on voting for ARPA $$ that went to him

Chronicle Managing Editor Cathy DeDe writes: The Warren County Board of Supervisors unanimously censured Queensbury At-Large Supervisor Brad Magowan on Aug. 30 for failing to disclose conflicts of interest violating the County code of ethics.

Mr. Magowan’s Bilt Well Construction did work for tour boat company ADK Excursions for which he was paid $4,360 in part through County ARPA funds, from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

The County Board of Ethics said Mr. Magowan should have recused himself from discussing and voting on the funding, and should have disclosed the payments in his required annual financial disclosure forms.

It also noted $11,248 paid by ADK Excursions to Bilt Well in 2021 and said that also should have triggered his recusal.

Instead, said official documents, Mr. Magowan “clearly told the Board (of Ethics) that he withheld all financial information from his…disclosure statement so that it would not become public information and disclosed to the public.

Mr. Magowan told The Chronicle he had “no comment” on the matter.

ADK Excursions is co-owned by now-County Treasurer Christine Norton, but County administrator John Taflan tells The Chronicle, “This happened before she was treasurer. She still has the confidence of the board.”

Ms. Norton declined to comment.

“Most disturbing to this Board is respondent [Magowan’s] ’s refusal to acknowledge the requirement placed upon him and all Warren County elected officials to fully and completely disclose financial interests which conflict with their duties as elected officials. He stated that he will not file true and complete information on his future financial disclosure statements.”

The Board resolution said, “Public Censure is a proportional response, based on…exhaustive deliberations.” It cited “statements made by Supervisor-at-Large Brad Magowan, who accepts responsibility for the violations.”

Of Mr. Magowan’s apparently conflicting statements, County Administrator John Taflan told The Chronicle, “I believe he made a comment to the Ethics Board that, if he was offered ARPA money (again), he would accept it for work done.

“But then during the Board session, he did say, yeah, that was probably not the right thing. I think he basically recanted in front of the board, and the board was satisfied with his explanation.”

Mr. Taflan said the Board’s other choices were to take no action, to enact a private censure in executive session, or to recommend that Mr. Magowan be removed from office — something that would have had to go through the Governor as “the only person in the state who can remove an elected official,” he said.

Public censure serves as “a warning,” Mr. Taflan said. It comes with no additional repercussions.

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