County replaces administrator
Hellwig fired; Bulger added by supervisors board
The county Board of Supervisors has fired county Administrator Spencer Hellwig and replaced him with the former chairman of the Saratoga County Republican Committee, Steven Bulger.
Also, after spending last year isolated and with no leadership roles, the big town caucus in the mostly Republican Saratoga County Board of Supervisors used their weighted vote at the board’s annual reorganizational Wednesday night to bust a decades-long tradition of taking turns in leadership and placed one of its own, Moreau Supervisor Todd Kusnierz, as its 2021 chairman. Wednesday’s move dashed the plans of the small town caucus, which is the larger group of the 23 supervisors, to seat their pick and heir apparent, Greenfield Supervisor Daniel Pemrick. Bulger’s hire, which comes with a $156,064 base salary, sparked accusations that one of Kusnierz’s first acts as new leader was not transparent.
“Is this the first example of the kind of transparency we can look forward to?” Waterford Supervisor John Lawler said. “We haven’t been given the courtesy to be told about this. None of us knew about this appointment.”
On Thursday, Kusnierz disputed the claim that Bulger’s appointment was a surprise.
“They did know what was happening,” Kusnierz said. “I had met with supervisors from the smaller towns’ proposed incoming chair (Pemrick) and made him aware of the plans before New Year’s so that there was no surprise and they would know what was coming down.”
Kusnierz was one of the first supervisors last August to call for Hellwig ’s dismissal, a result of his being one of the architects of the pandemic pay debacle — the scheme to pay every employee, some elected officials and administrators, including himself, time and a half for every hour worked during the early days of the pandemic. At the time, Kusnierz pointed out that Hellwig worked at the pleasure of the board. That triggered a committee, chaired by Ballston Supervisor Eric Connolly, to review who was responsible for the pay plan and if anyone should be held accountable.
The findings of the committee are not public. The resolution passed by the board Wednesday indicates Hellwig ’s dismissal is effective Jan. 10. Bulger begins his new job on Jan. 11.
It is unclear if Hellwig will take any legal action. In September, attorneys from Hinckley Allen, Michael Koenig and Victoria Lane said that attacks on Hellwig ’s characters are based on a “fatally flawed” external report on the pandemic pay and therefore “cannot be used as a basis to impose disciplinary action against Mr. Hellwig.”
In a statement released on Thursday, his attorney called Hellwig “a gentleman” and his dismissal a “petty political hit job visited upon someone who served the people of this county with distinction, excellence, and dignity for over three de
cades, and he deserved better.”
Hellwig released a statement too, saying he was honored to serve the residents of Saratoga County for 33 years, adding in part, “I want to thank the thousands of employees and organizations that make this county such a remarkable place to live and work. I wish everyone the best.”
The Times Union reached out to Bulger, who did not respond. He comes in as his stint as a President Donald Trump appointee to the Small Business Administration ends. In addition to his role as chairman of the
county GOP, Bulger worked for Congressman Chris Gibson. During his tenure at the Republican committee, the Times Union examined the committee’s finances and found that he spent more in six months than the last chairman spent in six years with payments to a convicted felon for a video, a state GOP political director and a fundraising operation run out of a Loudonville home. He also used funds to contribute to the state GOP so members could take part in Trump’s inauguration.
Todd Kerner, chair of the Saratoga County Democratic Committee, said he is disappointed by how the county is handling the replacement of the county administrator.
“They talk about transparency and openness and without an open and transparent search hired someone who was losing his job with the Trump administration,” Kerner said. “It smacks of political pay back. I expected them to do the right thing. This didn’t help.”
Kusnierz argues there is no one is more qualified than Bulger.
“We wanted the best and the brightest working for the residents of Saratoga County,” Kusnierz said. “I have the upmost confidence in Mr. Bulger. He’s an ideal individual, a great individual to fill that position. ... He has incredible knowledge in government operation. But that’s not the only reason. We want somebody with a broad range of knowledge and real world experience in assisting small businesses. Our focus will be on COVID response... But equally important is assisting small businesses that are struggling, some going out of business on a daily basis.”