GLOVERSVILLE — Republican Common Council members in Gloversville are not yet ready to fund a new position in the mayor’s office.
Falling on party lines, the Common Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday to send a proposal for a full-time confidential secretary to the personnel committee for review.
The $56,355 position must be carefully scrutinized and potentially reworked before going back on the agenda, said Councilman Michael Stover, R-6th Ward. Like his colleagues, he’s concerned about the price tag and alleged ambiguity towards the role.
“Hopefully, they'll be able to do a little more investigating as to what the qualifications are going to be, what the list of duties are going to be and we can come up with something from there,” said Stover, who entered office this year.
Mayor Vincent DeSantis attempted to make his case for the council to support a new secretary, given an increase in grant and legal paperwork expected this year.
“I think I made the case that we're really in a very different world now with all of the grants and initiatives that we have going that we need to support,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis’ request for a full-time position was initially approved by the council on Dec. 26. It was later reconsidered during the council’s Jan. 1 organizational meeting at the request of Councilwoman Ellen Adadio, R-4th Ward, who has argued that the salary rate is $25,000 too high.
In a reversal from December, Councilman-at-Large Wayne Peters sided with Anadio on New Year’s Day. Lawmakers Jessica McNamara, R-2nd Ward, and Stover, voted with them an hour after swearing into city office for the first time.
Councilman Jay Zarrelli, R-5th Ward, who voted with the two-member Democratic minority twice, motioned to bring the position to the personnel committee on Tuesday. He didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Councilwoman Betsy Batchelor, D-3rd Ward, voted against bringing the matter to the personnel committee before approving the board would hold up the mayor’s office during a year that’s anticipated to be rife with development.
“Once you know that you have a position funded, then you can go through the process of defining it with specifics,” Batchelor said.
She was surprised by Zarrelli’s motion.
“I think it is critical enough that it needs to be resolved and I really do hope it doesn't get embroiled in politics,” Batchelor said.
McNamara was disappointed to see remarks in the Leader-Herald last week by Councilwoman Marcia Weiss, D-1st Ward, blasting the previous vote for reconsideration as seemingly “political.”
“It’s not political,” McNamara said. “It's just that we're here for the taxpayers, and we're here to support what we can support and I thought that the amount of money was very much inappropriate for the position.”
McNamara added that she would be content with a confidential secretary working in a part-time capacity.
The city hasn’t had a confidential secretary in four years. The position was originally dumped as a cost-saving measure.
Currently, City Clerk Jennifer Mazur is directly paid in stipends to handle secretarial duties and a number of administrative employees have taken on clerical tasks for the mayor.
With mixed reporting from the council and mayor's office after Tuesday's meeting, it's uncertain at press time how many positions would be impacted by a confidential secretary.