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Maloney, for his part, said the city did not act properly -first by not filing an official request with his office to conduct the certification; and second by offering a flawed petition.
Sottile also took Maloney to task in a letter to the town of Ulster's attorney, James Kerr.
"There are certain non-discretionary acts that an assessor must perform when requested in the normal course of business," Sottile said. "The fact that the town's assessor refused to certify the information when presented, in my opinion, indicates to me that he is derelict in the duties of his office."
Maloney, a candidate for the Ulster County Legislature, said he was presented with a request to certify the petitions from city Alderwoman Mary Ann Parker, R-Ward 4, but never received an official request from the city to review the petitions. He said Parker came to his office unannounced, and he refused to conduct the certification.
"When I receive a formal request, on city letterhead, I will confer with the town attorney and take appropriate action," Maloney said. "(City officials) should act like professionals and put forward a formal request."
And for Sottile to claim he was derelict in his duties, Maloney said, was "totally incorrect."
Additionally, Maloney said the city's lawyer, Donna Hintz, ruled the petitions, submitted to the town by Alderman Charles Landi, D-Ward 3, had a number of flaws. Maloney questioned why he would certify petitions that are flawed.
Among other things, Hintz said in a memo that the "petition fails to adequately describe the territory under consideration for annexation (and) ... fails to state the approximate number of inhabitants of the same territory."
Hintz also said that because the petitions were flawed, there would be no need for a public hearing.
But Landi said the entire matter reeked of government stalling on the request by property owners to be annexed.
Landi has argued that because city sewer users have contributed to the operation of the sewer treatment plant over the years and paid for its expansion, the only fair way to supply municipal connections to town properties along Washington Avenue and Sawkill Road would be through annexation.
"The reason that our taxpayers pay higher property taxes is to get these services, and we should not be giving them away," Landi said.
Landi also said it was not the city requesting the annexation, but the town property owners, and he argued that no official request from the city to Maloney is needed.
