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Canton town board directs attorney to seek advice on protocol of supervisor email switch

Posted 11/30/17

By ADAM ATKINSON CANTON — Town councilmen and town attorney Charlie Nash will seek advice from the Association of the Towns of New York State on protocol for the transition of email accounts in …

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Canton town board directs attorney to seek advice on protocol of supervisor email switch

Posted

By ADAM ATKINSON

CANTON — Town councilmen and town attorney Charlie Nash will seek advice from the Association of the Towns of New York State on protocol for the transition of email accounts in light of the recent leadership change at the supervisor level following the November election.

Board members and Nash are also planning to meet with the accounting firm recently hired to oversee the town’s bookkeeping.

At a special town board meeting Nov. 29, Councilman Bob Washo forwarded the motion to direct Nash to contact the Association of the Towns for advice on how best a transition of email accounts, passwords and other access to town systems connected to the supervisor's office should be handled. The Association is a not-for-profit advocacy group comprised of towns and town officials which seeks to provide assistance and education to allow municipalities to become more efficient and realize greater economy.

The motion was seconded by Councilman Phil LaMarche and unanimously approved.

Supervisor-elect Mary Ann Ashley, a former Canton village mayor, will assume the town supervisor’s seat in January. She won the seat in the November election by an almost 4 to 1 margin from incumbent David Button who had sat at the helm of the town for nearly 16 years.

Questions were raised earlier this summer over how Button and the town board had improperly handled the redistribution of a salary for bookkeeping duties in his office when he assumed that roll from his wife in 2015.

The matter was resolved to the town board’s satisfaction to a point, and the state comptroller called in to conduct an audit of the town’s books. The audit, currently underway, is expected to be concluded sometime next year.

The accounting firm of Gray and Gray CPAs PC of Canton was subsequently hired several weeks ago to handle the bookkeeping for the remaining year. However, the issue had dogged Button throughout the campaign season leading up to the election.

At the special meeting Wednesday night, Washo also forwarded a motion to set up a meeting between the board members, Nash and representatives of Gray and Gray “just to see what is happening and find out how things are going.”

Councilman Jimmy Smith and Supervisor Button both pointed out that the firm is under contract to provide the specific services they have been hired for, no more no less.

“Are you concerned?” Smith said.

“Maybe not concerned, but curious,” Washo said.

Nash said the pertinent question perhaps was how the existing contract may change in the new year following the transition of supervisor duties to Ashley. The 2018 town budget has allowed $60,000 for the new supervisor to hire an accounting firm to handle the bookkeeping should she choose.

Washo said he was forwarding the idea of having the town board meet with representatives of Gray to become better informed about the services the firm is providing.

The motion was passed unanimously.

At the meeting, Button pointed out that the a transition meeting was held Monday between himself and Ashley and other parties and that there will be other discussions in the future as he prepares to leave the office at the end of 2017.