To the Editor:
I have correspondence and documents to show proof of just about everything I will be addressing in this letter to the Editor. I will be more than happy to share it with anyone.
The [Grafton] Town Supervisor has stated that he has removed the Town Clerk personnel from the voucher process because there are too many late bills. First I will state that we are not incurring late charges. The bill paying process of a municipality is very lengthy and bills/checks do cross in the mail many times due to the process not any one person.
When I took over the bill paying some time in July an email was sent to the Town’s attorney on 8/4/14 describing how as of July 4 different independent companies had bills dating back to 3/14 which I was working on getting paid. One vendor no longer allowed the Town to charge. The Supervisor’s response was “I didn’t get the bill.” This vendor faxed their bill to us each week. One of our County Waste accounts is billed through their website. I had to email the Town Supervisor 4 times asking him to either open up and print out the bill or give me the information so I could. Finally I gave up and called County Waste, explained the situation and reset the contact information so I was able to access the bill myself. Is this cooperation?
He [the Supervisor] stated that he receives no cooperation from the Deputy Town Clerk. I have asked him a question on a certain voucher and his response was “You are handling the bills, do whatever you want.” Is that cooperation from him? That is just one example. He states I posted the Standard Work Day resolution for 120 days. Actually he tried to get me to sign an affidavit stating the resolution had already been posted. No one had recollection of when so I chose to post the resolution. I dated it when I posted it (9-29). I removed it when I returned from vacation in early November which means it was not posted for 120 days as the Supervisor stated.
I was accused of changing vouchers after they were signed by the Board. One voucher was signed by the Supervisor and Councilwoman Messenger. The other Board members questioned one of the charges on the bill. The vendor agreed to drop that charge. Now the Supervisor and Councilwoman Messenger refuse to sign the lower bill. They prefer to spend more of our tax dollars just because it was I who got the bill lowered.
Yes, when Joe Allain told me he now had to count the recycle cash before it could be given to the Clerk’s office, I did use profanity in making the comment “This is bull s—-.” Then I picked up the money on the table that he had just taken out of an envelope. Is that “attacking Mr. Allain?” Joe Allain made a complaint that I used profanity; odd that a highway employee said exactly the same thing in the conference room in Joe’s presence a few days earlier. Joe made no complaint about that. That leads me to believe that it is alright for a man to use profanity at the Town Hall but not a woman! I never “attacked” Joe Allain nor did I rip money from his hand. Another lie told by our Town Supervisor. I will no longer take the recycle cash from the Supervisor’s office because it has gone through too many hands before I would see it. That is not a “proper procedure” as he put it.
There is a limited amount of petty cash in the Town Clerk’s office. I can’t always reimburse every receipt he gives me. He turned in 2 receipts, and I wanted to pay out the one but was told “if you aren’t going to fill both then you can’t do any”.
He complained that I haven’t gone for the DEC training. I do not get paid for this job. I choose to spend as much time with my family as I can. Before he complains a deputy clerk isn’t spending enough time or going for training maybe he should look at the pay scale. I consider myself as doing as much as I can when I can.
As far as threatening the Supervisor, he is right on that count. I threatened to seek legal action against him if he didn’t stop harassing me.
The Supervisor is very good at conning people into believing he is a victim in all these situations, that he hasn’t had a functioning Town Clerk since he started. The Town Clerk has many job functions and has to almost daily keep the Town Supervisor at bay because he is constantly trying to undermine everything coming from the Clerk’s office. He fails to admit he has bullied our Town Clerk to the point of tears, stood in the Clerk’s office yelling, “I don’t care about the law” and on occasion has said, “I have Barbara right where I want her, I knew exactly what I was doing when I made her Deputy Supervisor.”
I could go on and on with more underhanded deeds and comments, but I stand with the law which is why I have won every battle I have had with the Supervisor. Again he fails to talk about that!
The Eastwick Press keeps interviewing the Supervisor after each meeting and puts in print all these negative things, but no one from the Press has ever asked for the other side of the story.
Cathy Goyer
Deputy Town Clerk