Friday, October 23, 2009

Iberdrola discloses municipal officers it is paying

HAMMOND — Iberdrola Renewables Inc., the wind company developing the Stone Church Wind Farm Project, has released a list of municipal officers and their relatives the company is paying to use their property.

The four people named in the public notice are Hammond Town Councilman James C. Pitcher; John Mitchell, whose wife, Ann, was Hammond town clerk from 1988 to 2005; Hammond Planning Board member Steven S. Demick; and town of Oswegatchie Councilman Kenneth A. Wilson.

The public notice was in compliance with state Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo's Wind Energy Ethics Code, which Iberdrola signed July 29. The voluntary code calls on developers to disclose financial relationships with town officials or their relatives, release written property agreements and establish ethics training for employees.

Under the code, developers are not allowed to hire local officials, give gifts worth more than $10 in one year or pay for an official's or municipality's legal fees related to a law enforcement investigation. Violation of the code could lead to civil penalties of $50,000 for the first violation and $100,000 for subsequent violations.

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