Former Yorktown Comptroller Fights Back With Lawsuit
Former Town Comptroller Joan Goldberg contends concerns about her accumulated unused vacation time only arose after she questioned the hiring of Supervisor Michael Grace’s wife as a temporary worker in the town’s Tax Receiver’s Office.
In a lawsuit filed October 9 in state Supreme Court against the Yorktown Town Board, Goldberg reiterated her claim she was entitled to nearly $77,000 for 181 days of vacation time she had amassed during her 16 years of employment. Her legal action was initiated after the majority of the board passed a resolution demanding Goldberg return the money to the town.
Goldberg was hired by the Town of New Castle as its first ever town administrator. Her last day with Yorktown was September 21. On September 23, she received $42,957.56 directly deposited into her bank account, which covered her unused vacation time after taxes and deductions.
Grace and Town Board members Terrence Murphy, Dave Paganelli and Vishnu Patel referred to a May 18, 1993 resolution they claimed limited department heads to the same 36-day unused vacation time limit as CSEA employees when they stated Goldberg’s deposit constituted a “conversion of the town’s funds.”
However, Goldberg maintained no limit was ever placed on department heads and listed 15 other department heads, including Jen Fava earlier this year, who received all their accumulated vacation time when they left the town and no questions were asked by the town board.
The Mahopac resident called the board’s actions against her “arbitrary and capricious” and insisted she was singled out because on September 11 she questioned the legality and propriety under the town’s anti-nepotism laws of the hiring of Lisa Grace as an intermediate clerk for $15 an hour. Goldberg stated within several days of communicating with the board and the Human Resources Department about the hiring, Supervisor Grace challenged her accumulated vacation time “by attempting to alter the authorized and long-standing policy and practice of the town regarding payment to town department heads of unused and accumulated vacation time.”
“It was only after petitioner (Goldberg) raised the nepotism issue that the payment became an issue,” Goldberg stated in the lawsuit.
Furthermore, Goldberg alleged Supervisor Grace “set out to undermine” her by suggesting illegal conduct on her part after she successfully challenged his efforts to substitute the accounting firm of a “friend” for the current auditors hired by the town board.
Goldberg stated the town’s payroll records were audited each year and noted the town board created an Employee Benefit Reserve Fund on April 17 to provide funding for all accumulated and unused time owed to town employees as of December 31, 2011.
Councilman Nick Bianco was the lone town board member to vote against the resolution asking Goldberg to return the funds. He declined to comment on her lawsuit.
A hearing between the parties is scheduled for November 14 in White Plains.
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