The Malta Town Council typically makes few remarks when approving the recorded minutes of a previous meeting. They might correct a typo or clarify a statement. More often than not, the minutes are approved without discussion. At the board’s Monday, Feb. 5, however, a review of the January minutes sparked serious allegations by Councilwoman Sue Nolen about the way town clerk Flo Sickels and her office function.
I have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of Malta to see that their tax dollars are used wisely, and the concerns I am about to express relate to this duty that I take very seriously, said Nolen, who read from a prepared statement in response to comments Sickels made at the Jan. 2 board meeting about the recently extended hours at the clerk’s office.
At the January meeting, Sickels said her deputy clerk had increased her hours from 35 to 40 to accommodate the new office hours of 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, and she made a verbal request to the town board to consider increasing the budget to help cover the costs.
Nolen said it was this request that prompted her own inquiry into the operation of the town clerk’s office.
Nolen said her three main concerns were about the qualifications of the employees in the clerk’s office, the number of hours worked by those employees and salaries that are not in line with the work being done.
`Several disturbing facts emerged from my examination,` said Nolen. `An inexperienced deputy town clerk who does not possess the requisite skills, including not being a notary, has been placed in charge of the office by the town clerk during one of the peak hours of operation, thereby jeopardizing the level of service to the town residents,` she added, referring to the part-time clerk who covers office duties from 4-5 p.m. because Sickels and her deputy both leave at 4 p.m.
`The town board is in a fact finding mode. We want to look at all the issues Ms. Nolen as raised. There are some serious allegations,` said Supervisor Paul Sausville earlier this month.
As recently as Tuesday, Feb. 27, Sausville said the necessary documents to back up Nolen’s statements had not been provided.
`There is no information to validate the charges,` said Sausville. `Lacking any factual information it is impossible for the town to act.`
Nolen said she has FOILED the county clerks office for documentation regarding days and hours worked at the town clerk’s office, but she has not yet received the information.
Sickels, who did not respond to the allegations at the meeting, said in a later statement that she thinks Nolen’s accusations are political and showed a lack of understanding of the role of the clerk’s office.
`The accusations leveled against me by Councilwoman Nolen are purely political charges. Let me be clear. They completely display an alarming political and personal animosity toward me, our family and our office’s proven record of public service for Malta as town clerk,` said Sickels. `As evidenced by her statement, Councilwoman Nolen has demonstrated a shocking and clear misunderstanding of the role, duties and obligations of the town clerk.`
Nolen said Sickels works 30 hours a week at a salary of $43,680 plus benefits. The full-time deputy clerk works 40 hours a week at a salary of $32,490 plus benefits and another deputy clerk 15 hours a week at a salary of $9,360.
She went on to state that during the week, Sickels works at the county clerk’s office in Ballston Spa.
One of the more serious allegations was Nolen’s assertion that Sickels is not properly documenting her hours as they relate to the New York State Retirement system.
`The town clerk’s submission of hours toward the state retirement system contains inconsistencies,` said Nolen. `For one, she marked down that she worked on a day that the Town Hall was closed and also there appears to be overlapping hours between those she is reporting to the town and those she is working at the county.`
Nolen closed her statement by recommending to the rest of the board the convening of the ethics board to take a `closer look at these serious findings.`
Calling Sickels lax in her commitment to her duties as town clerk, Nolen went on to say, `In light of everything that I discovered, I want to propose to the residents of Malta a reform in the office of the town clerk. The office should be an appointed position as opposed to elected, thereby allowing the town board to hire an individual who will work a 40-hour week, interact in a positive manner with the other departments, maintain an expected level of commitment and enable the office to run at a considerable savings as compared to what it is now costing the taxpayers.`
While other board members offered no comments related to Nolen’s statements at the meeting, Sausville later said that the allegations about the clerk’s office took him by surprise.
`That’s the first time I heard that charge,` said Sausville of Nolen’s allegations in a later telephone interview.
Nolen said she and other board members have approached Sausville with these same concerns in the past.
`The only reason I asked to have the ethics board was because each time we have asked Paul to look into things, it doesn’t get done,` said Nolen. `This is something that has been coming to a head for a long time. We just want her to do her job.`
In her statement, Sickels took issue with Nolen’s proposal to make the clerk an appointed position.
`I’m also very concerned about her undemocratic plan to deny Malta voters an opportunity to select who serves as town clerk,` said Sickels.
She said little else related to the allegations, but in a later telephone interview Sickels noted that she does work about eight hours a week at the records center in the county clerk’s office.
She also said she took less offense to Nolen’s accusations about her personally but said she is most hurt by the allegations made about her staff.
`The part-time deputy clerk position was paid for under a grant,` said Sickels. The grant will expire by the end of the month, and the town board has voted to keep that position by funding it themselves.
`She is still scanning while doing the deputy clerk’s office,` said Sickels who noted the clerk can complete that task while at a desk in the town clerk’s office. `She’s doing excellent work. There is no requirement to be a notary.`
The town clerk’s office is responsible for preparing the minutes for the town board meetings, generating legal notices, and processing freedom of information requests. The office also issues handicapped parking permits, certificates of residency, marriage certificates, death certificates and burial permits. The office offers notary services and maintains town records as well as being involved in general, primary and special elections. The Saratoga County Board of Elections said all 21 municipalities in Saratoga County are served by an elected town clerk. “