NORWICH – The head of the City of Norwich's Department of Public Works, Assistant Superintendent George Carnrike, Jr., who is currently on paid administrative leave for unrelated issues, is facing up to a $15,000 fine after he allegedly dumped city waste on private property following a clean-up organized by his department of an illegal homeless encampment.

The Department of Environmental Conservation charged Carnrike with unlawful disposal of solid waste, allegedly occurring on May 2––a day after the City of Norwich and the Chenango County Sheriff's Office cleaned-up two illegal campsites containing discarded drug paraphernalia, human excrement and garbage.

According to court documents he is facing a fine of between $1,500 and $15,000 for the violation.

The second area that was cleaned-up is referred to as site 2, and was handled by the Norwich DPW.

City officials believed site 2 was on city property at the time, however it was not. After the clean-up and alleged illegal dumping, officials discovered the location was actually on private property, explained City of Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike, who is also the sister of George Carnrike, Jr.

Appearances of bias

The mayor said she would recuse herself from decisions relating to her brother, including an investigation into unknown allegations that led to him being place on paid leave June 14,

Council President Matthew Caldwell commented, “I think any elected official has the right to make that decision on their own, if it were me and I were in that position, that is the decision I would make.

“Public perception is what people see, and what you see may not be the whole truth, but that is what I would do,” he said

Councilman Robert Jeffrey also said perception of a fair process was important, both for the public and the employees of the city.

“We need to have a vision and we need to start planning. We need to establish goals. Across the board we will be better as a city. That is what we are trying to work on,” he said.

Though the mayor said she would step away from decisions, she told the council at a meeting last week, “I will not be excluded.”

Monday the mayor said she would was not making decisions relating to her brother being placed on leave or the DEC charges, but she said still needed to be kept informed.

She said she should be made aware of all findings and developments relating to the DPW by the council and be included in meetings relating to it, citing her responsibility as mayor.

Council members and the mayor refused to confirm George Carnrike, Jr. was even on paid administrative leave until five days after he was placed on it.

At a June 19 meeting supporters and the mayor made several comments in favor of the job George Carnrike, Jr. was doing and the kind of person he is.

During those public remarks the mayor confirmed for the first time he was on administrative leave while also criticizing the council for how they were handling the issue.

In a letter, the Chenango County District Attorney's office recused itself from cases involving George Carnike, Jr., citing personal connections to the office and the appearance of bias, even if none existed. The case will be prosecuted by a specially assigned attorney from the Broome County District Attorney's Office.

City of Norwich judges, Michael Genute and Patrick Flanagan, took similar actions last week, and recused the city courts from hearing the case, also citing concerns over personal connections to George Carnrike, Jr.

The case has been handed over to the Town of Sherburne Court and will be presided over by one of the town justices, John Powell or Jack Stanley.

The city's liability