Cox resigns from Town of Saratoga

After nearly 30 years working for the Town of Saratoga, Suzie Cox submitted her letter of resignation to the Saratoga Town Council effective December 31. Cox, who has served as town clerk since 2005 and was initially hired in 1994, submitted her letter prior to the December 1 meeting of the governing body.

“It has been my pleasure to have served in many capacities and as Clerk for the Town of Saratoga. I have worked for the Town of Saratoga since November of 1994,” wrote Cox in her letter. “Over the years I have been part of multiple administrations and was always able to maintain (sustain) the most professional of attitudes despite the unpredictable circumstances.”

Hired before the swearing in of Mayor Brad Cary in 1995, Cox worked for the Town of Saratoga through Mayor Kendall McBride, Mayor Hank Jewell, Mayor John Zeiger and Mayor Ed Glode. In 2005, she was appointed to the role of clerk by Zeiger over former clerk Courtney Bolender.

“I have never worked for more appreciated groups of individuals than those that have come into this office. I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with the most dedicated elected officials, the ones that have represented the town with dignity and pride, the ones that have been selfless, supportive and respectful of the employees,” Cox wrote. “The town has been blessed with the most dedicated employees that I have had the pleasure to work with, and to call friends.”

While a portion of the letter was read by Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Keel at the December 1 meeting, a full version of the letter was provided to local media. In that letter, Cox specifically pointed towards the questioning of finances by Councilmember Jon Nelson and cited his “continued personal attacks, inappropriate and unprofessional behavior and the current use of radio and media, leveled at me, and others”. 

“Councilman Nelson has made the position daunting and I find it impossible to continue to serve as your Clerk in the same respectful, courteous and enthusiastic manner,” wrote Cox.

Cox also used her letter to express her full support of the outside accounting consulting team, led by James Childress, and “their efforts in righting any errors or miscoding.”

“I welcome their guidance for the town in new procedures so that we can ensure the issues of the past remain in the past,” Cox wrote.

After Keel read a portion of the letter aloud, both he and Councilmember Judy Welton commented on their experiences with Cox since serving on the governing body.

“Personally, over the last couple of months, I’ve had the chance to work closely with Suzie, maybe a little closer than I had before, and she’s been very accommodating and really helped me get the information that I’ve needed,” said Keel.

Cox informed the council that she would do December payroll, but that her final day of December 31 would not allow her to do end of year reports or send out W2s unless the council wanted her to stay into the New Year. She added that, when doing her final paycheck, she wanted a member of the council sitting next to her.

Keel replied that he believed the best course of action would be to accept Cox’s letter and then engage with her on a contractual basis following the end of the year. While the letter was accepted, no action was taken in terms of whether or not to hire Cox on a contractual basis in the new year for training purposes or other situations as may be needed.

Nelson asked when the Town of Saratoga would begin advertising for the position as there was one meeting left in 2020. Keel proposed a special meeting, which was unannounced as of press time, to review the job description for town clerk and suggested keeping the advertisement “a little vaguer”.

“So if we do decide to make some changes in qualifications or whatnot, we can do that without having to re-advertise,” Keel said. “I would just all invite us all to be prepared at that next meeting with some recommendations. I’ve already been thinking about this today, about what I think we could do to improve and add to the Town administration to take burden off of whoever the next town clerk will be.”

The next meeting of the Saratoga Town Council will be at 7 p.m. on December 15 at Saratoga Town Hall.