The Ballston Town Board voted to abolish the position of town bookkeeper following the decision of Supervisor Patti Southworth in November to fire the woman who previously held the position for more than a decade.
The three Republican board members did not agree with Southworth’s decision to fire former bookkeeper Joann Bouchard and at a meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 6, voted to abolish the position and defund it from the 2012 budget. Members explained the purpose was to save the town from having to pay two salaries in the future in case a replacement bookkeeper was hired by the supervisor, or if a court ordered the town to reinstate Bouchard.
“The bookkeeper duties can now be performed by Supervisor Southworth, as they were done prior to the use of a bookkeeper,” said Board Members Tim Szczepaniak, Mary Beth Hynes and Kim Ireland in a prepared statement. “The supervisor will have to re-prioritize her daily activities to ensure that the town’s fiscal health and well-being are her top priority.”
The Republicans claim Bouchard was fired on Nov. 17 for providing councilman-elect Bill Goslin with a flash drive that contained the town’s financial information. At a previous meeting, the board had voted to allow Goslin access to the records so he could to get up to speed on the town’s financial situation before taking office, rather than making him file requests under the state’s Freedom of Information Law.
“The resolution did not specify how Goslin had to receive the information,” said Hynes.
At its Nov. 22 meeting, the board asked Southworth, a member of the Independence Party, to reinstate Bouchard to her position, but she refused.
Southworth said would not comment on why she felt Bouchard needed to be fired, calling it a “personnel issue.”
“I will say I think the public would have wanted me to do what I did, if they knew what I know,” said Southworth.
Hynes called the matter in which Bouchard was terminated “inappropriate,” and possibly illegal.
The Republicans maintain that if the supervisor did want to fire Bouchard, there were steps that needed to be followed first. Most employees are given written warnings and a hearing, with a chance to appeal, before being fired. Bouchard was let go without warning.
Southworth said that because state law stipulates the supervisor can designate a bookkeeper providing a resolution is passed by the Town Board, the person in the position does not have the same rights as civil service employees.
Saratoga County Director of Personnel John J. Kalinkewicz, the termination was a “very difficult issue.”
Kalinkewicz said the original resolution by the board in the 1970s would have allowed the supervisor to appoint a bookkeeper, but the firing would depend on the procedures put in place by the town and the supervisor should provide a specific reason for the termination.
“It’s doubtful a policy for this situation exists [within the town,] said Kalinkewicz. “It goes along the lines of how [the town] treats all of their employees and is this a deviation? The problem becomes, some have a lot of civil service rights and some don’t.”
He said if the town wishes to reinstate the position of bookkeeper in the future, a new resolution will need to be voted on.
Bouchard said she feels she was “unjustly terminated,” and plans to do whatever it takes to get back her position.
In response, Supervisor Southworth has hired legal counsel.
The supervisor said she feels abolishing the bookkeeper position was done “solely out of malice,” for terminating someone they didn’t want her to. She argued that not allowing her to refill the position will “put the town in jeopardy.”
“Why should the town approve the hiring of another bookkeeper that the supervisor can just hire and fire on her own whim?” wrote the three board members in their statement.
The Republican Town Board members and Goslin believe the firing was a direct result of Goslin being provided with some of the town’s financial records, as Bouchard was instructed.
“I don’t really understand who did anything wrong that would be at the magnitude where someone would be fired,” said Goslin.
Goslin has stated he would like to see a full financial audit of the town be performed. He has contacted the state Comptroller’s Office asking them to step in so one can be performed free of charge.
“Essentially, I have no evidence that anything criminal is going on, but we have a situation where we haven’t had an audit done in six years, and we have no report on a monthly basis that shows us the financial standing of the town,” he said.
Upon taking office, he intends to propose a financial plan that imposes better reporting and planning on the part of the town and that holds more accountability for politicians to Ballston’s citizens.
Southworth said external audits are performed annually because it’s the law, but each time the proposal for a full financial audit is placed before the board it is voted down because of the cost.
“Another set of eyes looking at your books is a good thing,” she said, adding she too has spoken with the Comptroller’s Office and they will be coming to perform an audit.
In the meantime, Southworth will be looking after the town’s finances herself.
Hynes said the supervisor should be relieved to be doing the job on her own since Bouchard was apparently “doing such a horrible job she had to be fired so close to the holidays.”
