Paris town Clerk/Treasurer Beth Frederick submitted her resignation by letter today, but the Town Board tabled accepting it until they can discuss the matter further with her.
In fact, town Chairman Virgil Gentz said he didn’t even read the letter because he wants to find a way to keep Frederick in her current position.
“I think it’s really important that we try to keep Beth on,” Gentz said.
For her part, Frederick said after the meeting that she resigned in part because the scope of the position has been expanding since she was appointed to it after former Clerk/Treasurer Linda Terry resigned in February to take a job with another municipality.
“The additional duties have been adding up,” Frederick said.
However, Frederick said she was OK with the board tabling her resignation and meeting with the board on what could be done to keep her on board.
“I’m willing to listen to what they have to say,” Frederick said.
The board has been working on ways to give Frederick additional pay for what they say are duties above and beyond those performed by the clerk/treasurer. Board members were not specific, but said that they have run into statutory limits to how that can be done.
Frederick was also supported by four speakers during citizens comments. The most extensive comment was made by Pam Luebke, who cited numerous improvements that Frederick has instituted in town office operations and suggesting that the board has been taking advantage of Frederick by having her work extensive hours.
“She keeps this place running like a well-oiled machine,” Luebke said.”I ask the board to really think twice about accepting her resignation.”
For her part, Frederick thanked residents Marilyn Zirbel and Kathy Frederick for volunteering to help her reorganize the town office.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your assistance,” Frederick said.
Former Clerk Terry told westofthei.com that some of the files etc, that needed to be organized was due to the move into the newly remodeled town hall that took place in 2007.
“Just prior to tax time in 2007, the new portion of the Town Hall was able to be moved in to,” Terry wrote in an email. “File cabinets and boxes were moved into the back room and left for Lori and I to deal with when we had time. Tax time came and went with no time for filing. After that, my deputy clerk helped out with the building permits that had been boxed up – they were filed by parcel number – some of those permits dated back to the early 1990′s. For the next two years, Lori and I attempted to get things straightened up in that back room. I had a deputy clerk that worked 4 – 6 hours a week, except during tax time, wherein she worked when I did – Monday, Wednesday and Friday; we also were open two Saturdays in December and January.
“I would have to agree – the new clerk/treasurer DOES need help with the work; I would have to wonder though, why did the Board choose to ‘let go’ the deputy clerk/treasurer that the Town already had? The present clerk/treasurer is fortunate in the fact that she was able to bring in, not one, but two people to help her – I was never given that opportunity by the Board.”
