Several months after the Town of Ballston’s bookkeeper was abruptly terminated, her part-time replacement has resigned the post.
At the same time, former bookkeeper Joann Bouchard, who was terminated in November by Supervisor Patti Southworth after holding the position for 13 years, has filed action against the town alleging that she was wrongfully terminated from the position.
On Wednesday, March 25, JoAnn Shaver, who filled the position after Bouchard, resigned the post.
From the time that Bouchard was fired, until the end of January, Southworth performed bookkeeping duties until the hiring of Shaver.
Shaver was contracted by the town as a part-time employee and worked up to 20 hours a week.
Councilwoman May Beth Hynes said, “JoAnn (Shaver) was doing a great job, she was coming into a lot of work. She had a lot of catching up to do. … She was putting in a lot of extra time beyond the 15 to 20 hours per week. She was also in the midst of an issue with a sick family member and it was very difficult for her to put in the hours and decided it would be better to exit.”
Among the issues that Shaver had to deal with were 1099 forms that were incorrect, said Hynes. And there was still the matter of having to close out the books from 2011.
“We need to know what our current numbers are to make adjustments. We need to know for instance the water rates of inside users and outside users. … All of that needs to be reconciled. It’s just one of a number of examples,” said Hynes.
The town will be looking to refill the position. Shaver declined to comment on the situation.
“We’re now checking into civil service lists looking to fill a full-time prime accounting clerk position. We’ll see whose on the list and available,” said Hynes.
In the meantime, Royal Arnold, a CPA who had done yearly audits for the town, will be working for $75 per hour to handle some of the bookkeeping duties and help close out 2011.
Bouchard’s firing had set off a wave of controversy in Ballston government. Republicans on the board claimed Bouchard was fired for providing then 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.
At its Nov. 22 meeting, members of the Town Board asked Southworth, who is a member of the Independence Party, to reinstate Bouchard to her position, but Southworth refused.
Southworth said would not comment on why she felt Bouchard needed to be fired, calling it a “personnel issue.”
According to Bouchard’s attorney Cheryl Sovern, there will be a hearing in the later part of April regarding the issue of her termination. Under New York State Law municipalities are permitted to have a pre-action hearing on claims they receive. The hearings are designed to provide the municipality with enough information to investigate a claim and an opportunity to settle a case early.
Sovern likened the hearing to a deposition and said it will be an opportunity for the town to ask questions.
