Seneca Falls Town Clerk Melissa Brown plans to begin offering limited in-home services to homebound residents even though the Town Board declined to approve the program this week after questions were raised about employee safety and municipal liability.
The proposal failed during the Sept. 1 board meeting, where Supervisor Frank Schmitter said the town’s insurance providers had advised against formally making home visits part of town operations. Brown, however, maintained that the elected clerk’s office has the authority to provide the services without board authorization and made clear during the meeting that she intended to proceed.
The debate highlighted competing concerns over expanding access to government services for residents who can’t easily reach Town Hall and exposing employees and the town to additional risk.
Brown told the board she had encountered only two situations during her three years as clerk in which home service was needed. One involved providing service at a hospital, while the other involved two residents in their 90s who didn’t have transportation to the clerk’s office. She also said she had contacted clerks elsewhere in the region and none of the seven she reached had sought Town Board permission before providing similar services.
Board member Wendy Crane said she supported the idea behind the program but questioned what could happen if an employee encountered a dangerous situation at a residence. Brown responded that employees wouldn’t necessarily have to enter a home to complete many transactions, pointing to services that could be handled at a resident’s door.
Schmitter said he had discussed the proposal with workers’ compensation representatives and the town’s insurance companies and had been advised against it.
“If she wants to do it, she can do it,” Schmitter said during the meeting, arguing the board shouldn’t formally approve a policy that could increase the town’s exposure. Brown responded that she could — and would — proceed.
Schmitter and board member Jackson Puylara ultimately opposed the measure. Crane said she wanted more time to consider it. Board members Dawn Dyson and Gabby Cosentino were absent, meaning all three members present would have needed to support the resolution for it to pass.
Brown confirmed after the meeting that she intends to implement the program, describing it as limited to residents who are homebound or facing circumstances that make traveling to the municipal building unreasonable.
The policy developed by Brown goes considerably further than the broad concept discussed by the board.
Eligible services could include handicapped parking permit applications and renewals, dog licensing, hunting and fishing licenses, notary work, assistance with records requests, tax collection during authorized periods and other municipal forms or clerk services permitted under state law.
Appointments would have to be scheduled in advance during normal weekday business hours and could be grouped geographically. Brown could also designate particular days each month for home visits.
Whenever practical, two town employees would attend an appointment. If staffing makes that impossible, Brown could authorize one employee after considering the service being requested and any known safety risks. Employees would carry town identification, use municipal equipment when possible and leave immediately if they felt unsafe.
The policy also bars employees from entering residences where illegal activity appears to be occurring or accepting gifts and gratuities. It allows the clerk’s office to require some transactions to take place at Town Hall and permits the program to be suspended because of staffing, budget, legal or safety concerns.
That framework attempts to address some of the concerns raised during the board debate, but it doesn’t resolve the underlying disagreement over whether the town should formally authorize the service.
For now, Brown is moving ahead without that approval — turning what began as a failed Town Board resolution into an administrative policy of the elected town clerk’s office.
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