The Times Union June 16 edition reported that Saratoga County Human Resources director Margaret (Marcy) McNamara was let go by the Board of Supervisors following the end of her six year appointment.
She will be replaced by Scott Chamberlain. Mr. Chamberlain is a resident of Halfmoon. Mr. Chamberlain appears well qualified for the position. At the time of his hire he was head of human resources for the New York State Teachers Retirement System. He was previously with the New York State Office of Mental Health as director of employee relations.
The action represented a continuation of the conflict between the supervisors from the small towns and the larger municipalities.
The readers of this blog may remember that Ms. McNamara and County Administrator Spencer Hellwig played key roles in the debacle when the county decided to pay most employees including Ms. McNamara and Mr. Spencer time and a half pay for their regular hours during the pandemic.
Ms. McNamara was reported to have told members of the Board of Supervisors as part of the COVID fiasco that the city of Saratoga Springs along with the towns of Wilton, Greenfield, and Malta were paying their employees time and a half for their regular hours. This turned out not to be true.
The newspaper reported that Stillwater Supervisor Ed Kinowski told the Times Union that “the county is tossing aside another loyal, dedicated, hardworking employee of Saratoga County (There is) no reason, other than they can.”
In a case of unintended irony, Supervisor Kinowski read a letter from Northumberland Supervisor Willard Peck that opined that the new county leadership was hiring “friends and family.” Clifton Park Supervisor Phil Barrett pointed out to Peck that Ms. McNamara had hired Kinowski’s son to be her deputy.
According to the TU:
“The statement (by Peck) also said the county is now being ruled by ‘fear and intimidation’ and that employee morale is suffering because some employees worry they are on a ‘hit list.'”
I expect Mr. Kinowski’s son is understandably worried about his future under Mr. Chamberlain.
Saratoga Springs Politics 
If the County had funds available to even consider paying employees time and a half for their fist 40 hours during the pandemic, maybe the County should re-visit their decision to sell Maplewood Manor. That facility is now empty and abandoned seven years after they Supervisors sold that nursing home to a private entity. According to former employees, nothing good happened there once the facility was transferred to the for-profit corporation. Ultimately, this is really not the fault of the County or the for-pro company. It is the fault of New York State for keeping Medicaid reimbursements so low that these facilities gradually turn into money pits. Had reimbursement levels been adjusted annually to reasonable amounts over the past 20 years, the County would not have been motivated to sell Maplewood Manor. This is another example of government shirking its responsibility and distorting reality in order to keep taxes at the lowest level possible and the economy artificially primed.
Chris Mathiesen
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen, Chris
LikeLike