Woodstock’s town board heard about the hiring of two clerks at its most recent meeting. One received nothing but praise. The other triggered the kind of acrimonious debate among the board members more often heard these days.
The difference was in who was doing the appointing.
Woodstock town clerk Jackie Earley has appointed former Onteora school board vice-president Meghann Reimondo first deputy clerk, replacing deputy clerk Lynn Sehwerert, who is retiring in October
“I think she’s going to be perfect,” councilmember Laura Ricci said. “I think you found somebody who will be a perfect fit. She seems to have a great attitude, and she’s ready to go.”
State law gives town clerks the authority to appoint up to three deputies. The clerk establishes the responsibilities of the first deputy, and that person performs the duties of town clerk in that clerk’s absence. The other deputies fulfill responsibilities established by the town board.
Court clerks are a different story. Since being criticized for a lack of participation by town supervisor Bill McKenna, the majority of the town board has been diligent to a fault when it comes to review of McKenna’s hires.
Councilmembers Bennet Ratcliff and Maria-Elena Conte stood firm against what they believe to be improper town hiring practices. They voted against hiring Ada Helm as court clerk. The appointment failed, 2-2. Councilmember Anula Courtis is on vacation.
Ratcliff cited a lack of documentation.
“I had earlier sent an email to all the town board members and noted that this is a two-step process, that first the Town of Woodstock has a process, and then second the court itself has a processm and the the town’s process for filling this vacancy remains incomplete,” Ratcliff said.
“Actually, that’s not true, Bennet,” supervisor McKenna countered. “The process spelled out in the CWA contract was completed. You got a copy of the application, which I forwarded to you again today.”
Ratcliff, citing the town’s employment practices compliance handbook, noted missing paperwork.
“There was no employment verification request form, no background verification authorization form, no hold-harmless statement,” Ratcliff complained. “There’s no credit check or consumer report. The Town of Woodstock is the hirer of this person. The first level in this hiring must be done according to the Town of Woodstock, not just the CWA contract. There are multiple steps that need to be done. So I would ask that we wait until this process is complete. We were told earlier that because we were not being diligent, that we needed to find out more information.”
“We are required to do our due diligence and that’s what we are attempting to do. Until we have all the information …” Conte started to say.
“You should have gone and got it from the the judges, but I’ll let them know you’re dissatisfied with their answers,” McKenna scolded.
McKenna has blamed the town board for not doing its due diligence on the hiring recommendation for maintenance worker Michael Innello, a Level 3 sex offender. McKenna withheld information about Innello’s criminal history and status.
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