A former Saratoga Springs city councilor appeared before a Saratoga City Court Judge Thursday on official misconduct charges, but a trial date has still not been set.
In February, Jason Golub and his attorney Karl Sleight appeared before Saratoga Springs City Court Judge Jeffrey Wait. It was three months after entering a not guilty plea to charges linked to alleged incidents in December 2023 where city employees worked on Golub’s private property using city resources while on city time. Golub left the department last August.
In March, Sleight moved to dismiss the case, which he called “unserious.”
“I don’t think anyone thinks that a clogged drain, eight minutes, and drain cleaner or a jug of Drano is something serious that law enforcement should be spending a lot of time and resources on. But more importantly now, it’s abundantly clear and there’s no question in my view that the charge is not substantiated by the evidence that the police have,” said Sleight.
After Thursday’s appearance, Sleight said Judge Wait had not delivered decisions on all the motions before him regarding the case.
The incident involves a DPW staff member who was recruited by then-deputy commissioner Joe O’Neill and allegedly worked on the city’s clock and dime for less than 15 minutes. It was referred to the state comptroller, who referred the case to State Police, who then referred the case to city police.
O’Neill recruited city plumber Ken Dooley to unclog a drain on Golub’s property on December 26th after work hours. Dooley and another DPW employee allegedly returned the following day to collect a drain snake and pour a chemical down the drain to clear it — without clocking out.
A remaining question is whether a political dispute led to the probe.
In 2022, during a discussion on an aggressive panhandling resolution, Golub suggested city police might take the word of a “rich white lady” over that of an unhoused person. Tim Coll, who was elected Public Safety Commissioner in 2023, filed a number of complaints, including one to the state Bar Association, where he refers to his career as a former FBI agent.
Sleight’s motion to dismiss claims they have not received complete telephone and email records from Coll. Sleight said Thursday the situation hasn’t changed.
“The city continues to withhold Commissioner Coll’s records and we have—we are continuing trying to get those and hope to get them through the city or some other avenue,” said Sleight.
Coll maintains he has complied fully with his discovery obligations, as he told WAMC in March.
“I had information subject to FOIL, potentially subject to FOIL, that I provided to our FOIL officers here in the city and ultimately they make the determination whether or not they should be turned over or not,” said Coll.
Coll tells WAMC he cannot direct city police to pursue any case and is confident that he acted professionally and properly.
A trial date has not been set.
