OBSERVER Photo by Andrew David Kuczkowski Sheridan Town Clerk Julie Szumigala, third from right, and Town Supervisor Louis Delmonte Sr., fourth from right, sit during a town board meeting in September. Delmonte will not rerun for office and Szumigala will retire after 30 years of service to the town.

SHERIDAN — After elections this November and the people’s choices take their seat on the Sheridan Town Board, there will be two sorely missed members: Town Supervisor Louis Delmonte Sr. and Town Clerk Julie Szumigala. Szumigala and Delmonte are both leaving the board to address personal issues and will leave a void within the board.

Delmonte, 58, was on the board for eight years and all of them being as supervisor. He attributes his stepping down to the needs of having more home time with his wife and three boys as well as assisting his mother.

“I have a mom, a very elderly mom, that needs a lot of help. So, I am kind of taking care of my mother, which is becoming a full-time job,” he said then laughed. “… My other brother passed less than a year ago, I’ve been kind of the guy who has been taking care of the family.

“I’ve been taking care of my mom every day and it comes down to you have to get something off your plate. … You don’t hardly take family off your plate, family’s first.”

Despite his departure, Delmonte believes that the board that remains will have plenty of experience to overcome his absence, but Szumigala’s will be harder.

“No, because on this board we have people who have served for 16 years and longer,” he said. “Lifetime residents that are still going to be on the board Mr. (Richard) Feinen is one and Colleen Yerico, who has been here for a dozen years or so. They’re very knowledgeable of everything that goes on.

“The learning curve is going to be the town clerk. … That job is so much more than a clerk. She wears eight different hats, realistically.”

See SHERIDAN, Page A6

One impact that Delmonte boasts from his time on the board was the ability to lower the debt to nil. When he came in, there was “a lot of debt” credited towards the town, he said.

“When I leave as supervisor, this town is going to be debt-free, completely,” Delmonte added.

Delmonte credited Szumigala for her hand in helping the newly appointed supervisor eight years ago. Her then-22 years of being clerk bridged the gap quickly for Delmonte as he learned his role among the board.

Szumigala is also leaving Sheridan’s board, after 30 years. That’s three decades as town clerk, or literally since 1987. A lot has changed in that time, but not for the town clerk position.

Although, it is a position that Szumigala didn’t even eye down for herself. She was asked if she wanted to run, which turned into a controversial election.

Her mother called her while she was in Cape Cod asking if she’d like to run for town clerk. Szumigala responded with, “Sure, why not.”

Once it came to the November elections, the votes and absentee ballots were counted. It was a tie, though there was one single vote that was written on paper which was unaccounted for, Szumigala said. For ties, the incumbent takes the seat, but this isolated vote had to be brought to court to consider its legality in the election. In district court, it was ruled against counting the vote because the anonymity of the voter has been compromised.

The ruling wasn’t final as it continued on to the next level.

“Oh, I cried a lot,” Szumigala said of the legal actions of the election.

In county court ruled in favor of the vote counting. The supreme court in New York agreed with the county court and that vote went Szumigala’s way.

Her first day was April 10, nearly half of a year after the election.

Thirty years later, her family and physical condition are swaying her away from making it to a fourth decade as clerk.

“I am getting too old,” Szumigala said. “I really enjoy the job. I still, usually, get up looking forward to coming in. I love working with the people. But I have some health issues, my husband has health issues and I just think it’s time to step down and let somebody else make a mark.”

In her tenure, she has learned of the small-town consolidation efforts to lower the tax bill. The role changed as clerks became a multi-facet job. It is something that a seasoned clerk adapts to, which worries Szumigala for the winner in the November election.

“I am worried about the position of clerk because here in small towns, clerks get a lot of things piled on them. I joke about having eight hats that I wear including (town) gardener and snow shoveler. It’s just the way it is,” she said.

Two people are running for the position: Susan Bigler and Rebecca Shafer.

Szumigala worked under four supervisors, all different than the last, she said. She will look to become the deputy tax collector for the first three months of next year and the book keeper for the supervisor for at least one year. Though, what sparked enthusiasm for Szumigala was the more allotted time to read.

“I was an avid reader and now if I read, I am reading something to keep up with all the new changes and things that are happening,” Szumigala said.

The duo of Szumigala and Delmonte will sit in office for the waning parts of 2017. Though fresh eyes will take a look at the town and its board next year, the loss will be more than just a supervisor and a clerk.

“I love what I do with the town,” Delmonte said, “and I would love to do it for another eight years, but I have to take care of the family and who knows what comes down the road.”

Twitter: @Kuczkowski95