Clerk Absense

News

Contact Dan Ashley, Chairman @ 271-8744

August 13, 2009

from the North Greenbush Democratic Committee Democratic Chair Calls for Appointment of Acting Town Clerk North Greenbush Democratic Chairman Dan Ashley expressed concern today that the Town Clerk’s Office is being severely strained by the ongoing absence of Town Clerk Kathryn Connolly. The clerk has been unable to work for the past FIVE weeks due to some elective surgery and there is no way of knowing if or when she will return to work. Her absence has caused the office to be entirely closed for several days because vacations were not scheduled to accommodate such a long absence. Further, she has given the town board no indication of when she might return to work. The services provided to the public in this office are not subject to discretionary staffing, stated Ashley. The office must be opened to the public during regular business hours 5 days a week to ensure public access to licensing services such as marriages, which are handled by the two clerks in separate salaried positions as Registrars of Vital Statistics. As such, the only remaining employee, her deputy, is doing the work of 4 salaried positions by filling in the town clerk’s second salaried position as the Registrar of Vital Statistics. While we all sympathize with health issues, an office such as this must be adequately staffed and despite the salary of this position having been elevated to full time status many years ago, there is no way to enforce a absence or vacation policy for the position because it is an elective office. Given the seriousness of the town’s budget crisis, it might be appropriate to ask the town clerk to consider taking an unpaid leave of absence until she can return to her work and allow the town board to fill a temporary appointment of her choice to a salaried position during her absence. Ashley noted that Ms. Connolly claimed she was “disabled” at her endorsement interview held in June before the Democratic Committee. At the time, questions arose as to why she was running if she was disabled as she claimed. Now it appears that this disability is seriously affecting service at the Clerk’s Office and straining her only deputy who will likely have to be paid overtime again to attend tonight’s town board meeting and take minutes as required by law. Ashley noted that there is no overtime in the 2009 Clerk’s Budget for overtime which will only add to the town’s deficit. Dan Ashley, Chair, NGDC