Nancy is filling the place previously held by Suzanne Coulter as the elected Clerk-Treasurer. The position was eliminated later this year and made into that of a Fiscal Officer, a hired rather than elected position.
There are details previously posted on this issue here.
Suzanne Coulter resigned following the May 7th regular council meeting in 2011 during which tensions rose and she had an emotional moment, removing herself to the basement and making a frightful, loud noise.
Suzanne continuted to do the duties of an Acting Fiscal Officer until Nancy White was hired. Residents and Council who inquired about why Suzanne continued to handle the village funds were told that she had to be there to pay the police officers. Whether Minerva Park laws require this and the mayor's signature is not enough to write checks to the Police officers and employees I am not sure.
Suzanne signed a contract as an employee of the village that stated she was required to have worker's compensation and liability insurance. There is a pattern of village employees signing contracts stating they have these important contract qualifications and documentation is not checked ensuring that they have them. More than once they have not in fact had them.
Suzanne's case was no different. When she signed her contract with the village, she did not have proof of workman's compensation. When public records requests were submitted for this documentation, the village avoided a direct answer to the requests.
Eventually, one resident was given a copy of Mrs. Coulter's homeowners' insurance as documentation of liability insurance. This is the document described in her contract.
If this woman, with a business degree, truly thought that a resident was asking to see her homeowner's insurance, I understand her frustration. Having a business degree, though, I suspect she knew better.
Her response to the resident was left as a voice message:
The worst part of this situation is that it was allowed to happen. There are several lawsuits with Minerva Park about a hostile work environment, and it sounds as though this could have been led to another one.
Mayor Lynn Eisentrout and the present Council have allowed attitudes to get so unprofessional in the community building that it led to someone feeling this emotional about a public records request for documents that should have been on file. Something has to change.
Furthermore, Lynn Eisentrout didn't actively respond to this situation. The resident filed a police report about the message, Lynn made a copy of it, and apparently it was marked "in her file" but nothing else came of it. The police chief denied any threats were present and stated there weren't any charges to prosecute.
This environment that Lynn Eisentrout and the rest of council has put up with needs to change. There is a chance to make that happen with your voice and your vote.
Sounds like you got what you deserved, including an apology. The woman was obviously upset and distraught by the residents she named hounding her. I am glad you posted the audio so others can decide for themselves. She is no longer the Clerk Treasurer. You got what you wanted.
ReplyDeleteSo you ask for 1 public record and this is what you deserve! I am glad you like like living under those rules. The point of asking for what was asked for is that the Mayor one again did not do her job to make sure she had the proper paper work per the contract. This has happen more then once.If you know anything about Bus. you would understand why the contract says that you need the proper paper work.
ReplyDeleteThe resident in question did not "hound" her. She shouldn't have even needed to know about the public records request if she had the proper paperwork on file. She signed a contract stating she had Beauro of Worker's Compensation and Liability Insurance. There has been more than one occasion of the Mayor (and thus the Village) entering into contract with individuals who claim to have these in place but do not. That is a liability to the village. A huge one. It is also a violation of our contract with our insurance company; leading to us potentially losing our insurance as a village.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne clearly needed to resign due to the stress she was under. Blame who you want for "hounding her" but the entire air in the community building and the attitude from both council and the "hounders" needs to change. When things get out of hand in the council meetings, it is up to Council to maintain the professionalism of the room. That goes both ways; not just limiting what residents are allowed to say or how long they can spend saying it, but also making sure elected officials are respectful and professional in representing Minerva Park. Suzanne's emotions wouldn't have been so high if there had been an appropriate and equal level of respect held in council meetings. She and others were permitted to get too personal in their comments, to the point that someone would feel as strongly as she did about an issue of paperwork.
"Sounds like you got what you deserved" ???
ReplyDeleteand
"The woman was obviously upset and distraught by the residents she named hounding her."
Hard to believe that type of a conclusion could be logically arrived at. First, just because someone states something to that effect does not make it the truth. Second, that voice message was obviously left by a person that was upset or enraged which would typically raise questions to a reasonable person if what was said was based on biased emotion and not fact, Third, as an acting fiscal officer if there was truth to what was stated then it seems the reasonable course would have been to file some type of complaint as to this alleged "hounding", particularly since it seems she was in the good graces of the village administration, Fourth, it seems that this voice message was made in direct retaliation to a legitimate public record request which is an indication that other issues mentioned are likely baised, not to mention raises questions of abuse of authority/office by the acting fiscal officer. Fifth, given that the documents of the public record request were apparently not on file or presented before the contract was signed it makes this sound to be potentially more like a threat to all that dare to question.
Why would any mayor and any council want a person with such issues in charge of finances?
Why would any residents of the village want that or want a mayor or any council members that allowed that?
Minerva Park, by way of the mayor, is digging itself into a deep hole. Have you ever heard of New Rome? She is leading the village in a path of self destruction. The village will be absorbed back into Blendon Township, your police department will no longer exist, crime will likely rise and property values will decline. You don't need a crystal ball to see this one coming. Good luck on election day!
ReplyDeleteIt is very concerning that the Village is held hostage as to the issuance of payroll checks. No one else has training on how to process payroll? What about bringing in a traveling clerk from the auditor's office? I would suggest to Council and the Mayor that some cross training needs to be put in place so someone else can issue checks when the fiscal officer is not available.
ReplyDeleteHeld hostage is a good way to describe that lack of action by the administration and council. A traveling clerk other than the acting fiscal officer would have been a viable alternative, and I am sure was ignored by the mayor and most of council.
ReplyDeleteNone of you know what happened.
ReplyDelete