Legal fallout
Former Saratoga County administrator seeks back pay, damages after firing
Former Saratoga County administrator seeks back pay, damages after firing./
The legal fallout from Saratoga County’s pandemic pay scandal continues.
Spencer Hellwig, the former county administrator who was fired in January, filed an Article 78 in Saratoga County Supreme Court on May 6, seeking to restore his position and lost wages. This follows a notice of claim that Hellwig’s lawyer filed last month in which he seeks damages as a victim of “gross negligence, slander, libel and defamation,” as well as “intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
Hellwig’s lawyer, Michael Koenig, did not respond to a Times Union request for comment on Monday on the new court filings.
Board of Supervisors Chair Todd Kusnierz said he could not comment on the specific litigation, but he added, “the Board of Supervisors will vigorously defend the taxpayers of Saratoga County on this issue.”
Hellwig’s firing is a result of the pay debacle that was hatched in the early days of the pandemic by Hellwig, county Director of Human Resources Marcy Mcnamara, then-board of Supervisor Chair Preston Allen, Greenfield Supervisor Daniel Pemrick and Saratoga Supervisor Tom Wood.
The plan was to pay all employees, including managers like Hellwig, time-anda-half pay for every hour worked during the pandemic. At the time, Mcnamara told the law and finance committee that “every municipality is doing it” including Saratoga Springs, Greenfield, Malta and Wilton. However, none of those communities paid their workers time-and-a-half for regular hours during the pandemic.
In the court filing, Koenig argued that
Hellwig was “improperly and unlawfully terminated,” and that prior to the termination, Hellwig “had been a faithful and dedicated public servant of the county since 1988,” and that his “termination had no sound basis in reason or regard to the facts.”
When Hellwig was replaced in January, it looked like he was solely bearing the brunt of the controversial plan that ended up being scrapped within weeks.
Meanwhile, Mcnamara’s position is currently posted on the county’s website. The $125,898 a year job, the posting indicates, comes with “excellent benefits.” The chosen applicant will be granted a six-year contract. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Mcnamara did not respond to a Times Union request for comment on the future of her position.
Kusnierz would not comment on if the job posting and Mcnamara’s actions surrounding the pandemic pay are connected. He did say that Mcnamara’s contract, which was also a six-year agreement, will be up in mid-may. He also said Mcnamara can apply.
“The HR committee has decided to post the position,” Kusnierz said. “This is a very important position at the county and the county administrator by local law makes a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The committee decided to move forward with an open posting. The reason for the action is the term expires.”