Former Comptroller Files Petition Against Yorktown

YORKTOWN, N.Y. – Former Yorktown Comptroller Joan Goldberg has filed a petition against the Town Board to void its Sept. 26 resolution that declared she was not entitled to nearly $77,000 in unpaid vacation time.

Goldberg, who worked with the town from 1996 to 2012, says she was entitled to issue herself $76,959.63 for 181.5 days of unused vacation time she had saved up during her tenure. The amount comes to $42,957.56 after taxes and deductions.

According to the petition filed in New York State Supreme Court on Oct. 8, the board’s resolution declared that Goldberg’s actions constituted “a conversion of the Town’s funds because that conclusion was arbitrary and capricious.”

The resolution by the board followed a nearly three-hour long public work session in Town Hall. Following the work session, the board entered into a closed session. The board then re-opened the public session and passed the resolution.

The petition accuses Town Supervisor Michael Grace of “attempting to alter the authorized and long-standing policy and practice of the Town regarding payment to the Town Department heads of unused and accumulated vacation time.”

The petitions states that 15 other department heads were not challenged for similar actions regarding vacation time, and that the board’s actions are directly tied to Goldberg questioning on Sept. 11 the hiring of Lisa Grace, the supervisor’s wife, as a temporary worker in the tax office at Town Hall in August.

According to the petition, Goldberg’s “duties as Town Comptroller on occasion put her at odds with the current Town Supervisor, Michael J. Grace, most recently when she communicated with the Town’s Human Resource Department and the Town Board on Sept. 11 about the legality and propriety under the Town’s anti-nepotism law when the Town Supervisor’s wife was hired for a town job."

Goldberg is currently working for the Town of North Castle as town administrator. Yorktown must answer to the complaint within 20 days, according to the petition.

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