Council takes Galloway to task on payroll, responsibilities

Monday, May 4, 2020

CLOVERDALE -- Besides the contention surrounding the termination of former Town Manager Wayne Galloway, the Cloverdale Town Council is also questioning Clerk-Treasurer Cheryl Galloway not being able to do payroll.

During its special meeting last Wednesday, Mrs. Galloway told the council she was planning to switch the town government’s current payroll system to a new one. She added she was being audited once a month, and needed to transfer from the ADP system to Keystone Payroll.

The clerk-treasurer related that the auditors are already familiar with Keystone, but not ADP. However, she provided that there had been no problems with ADP before. This was the first sticking point.

Council member Gary Bennington asked what the current expense was for ADP, to which Mrs. Galloway said she did not know specifically and would have to look.

Regardless, Council Vice President Greg Jay highlighted that Keystone came with a $3,950 licensing fee. He then recommended that the numbers be provided before making the change.

Council President Larry Fidler held up a document signed by the clerk-treasurer regarding the switch dated April 24. Galloway responded that the council was being consulted because she had to go in Sunday to move it over.

Statutorily, Mrs. Galloway said, the clerk-treasurer did not have to consult the council, as payroll is her responsibility. She said she was doing so to give courtesy to the council.

Town Attorney Daniel Hofmann asked if the transition would require additional appropriations, to which Mrs. Galloway said it was just a database change.

At first, Jay and the council agreed that this was under Mrs. Galloway’s “purview” and her decision. However, he added that he wanted to see a rundown of potential savings.

Responding to Bennington, the clerk-treasurer said the town had been using ADP since 2012. At that time, payroll was being transitioned from out of a bank in Greencastle.

Mrs. Galloway then said Deputy Clerk Trina Baker would not do payroll anymore, but would still fulfill her other duties. As such, payroll was to be her “sole responsibility.” This led into the second sticking point.

Relating to Mrs. Galloway not issuing Mr. Galloway’s final paycheck, as well as corrections made to salaries at the Cloverdale Police Department, the clerk-treasurer said the transition would delay them.

The clerk-treasurer said she would need “a huge amount of help” reconciling payroll with the change. She added that she would have to pay the auditors to come and figure out ADP.

Jay put out that this was more of a “transition problem,” not a system problem.

Mrs. Galloway said Wayne Galloway was the only one who was trained on ADP, adding that it has brought Baker “to her knees” working it since January. She implored the council that she “would be on her own” without the auditors’ help, and needed “the equipment and the tools to do it.”

Fidler fired back that despite ADP working since 2012, the clerk-treasurer did not know how to do payroll. Mrs. Galloway said that her husband had worked “for free” for the town as deputy clerk from 2012 to 2015, and as such did it.

“We have someone hired that’s on payroll right now that’s our town clerk,” Jay said. Mrs. Galloway responded that she was never trained on ADP, and that Mr. Galloway went to class for three months to learn the system.

“That was the superteam,” Mrs. Galloway said. “That was Wayne doing the payroll, town manager, building inspector, president of redevelopment. It was Trina helping with transferring money back and forth from banks. It’s a monster of a job.”

Jay expressed concern about a $150-an-hour training fee and $50-an-hour travel cost, as well as any potential living and traveling expenses.

The clerk-treasurer snapped back that she did not see why this was problematic, claiming that the town pays $225 to the town attorney to cover Mr. Galloway’s previous duties. Hofmann interjected, bringing up his federal lawsuit against the town.

“You sit there and tell everyone that we’re all good people, and that you miss working as a team,” he said. “And yet before the meeting, you walked around and served each of us.”

“Do you think that gives me any pleasure?” Mrs. Galloway asked in return, extending the Keystone issue to the termination controversy. “We worked eight years at this town. We have followed every rule and every law, and we’ve left our mark.

“You guys aren’t going to take that away from me,” she added. “Wayne has done an excellent job. I don’t know what this back-story is of why you all the sudden wanted to fire Wayne.”

She strongly denied any wrongdoing in allegedly giving the former town manager money not allowed by the council. She was referencing when the council approved increasing the town manager’s salary to $40,000 last year.

“I do love this team,” the clerk-treasurer said. “It doesn’t matter. We’re having a disagreement. It’s just a head bumping thing. I find no joy in this at all.”

“This is a little bit more than a head bumping job,” Fidler returned in a looming manner. Before he changed the subject, Mrs. Gallloway added that putting her husband out of a job was the same way.

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  • In the previous Banner Graphic article, Mark Waterfill, Mr. Galloway’s Attorney, stated: ”Instead of sitting down and treating him with respect, they abruptly called him in and told him he was fired”……….my friend, who, was the prior Utility Supervisor in Cloverdale, told me that he got a knock on his door at 9:00 p.m. on a Wednesday, following an executive session of the town council. He was advised by the Town Marshall to remove all personal belongings from the town truck immediately and he was fired that night. He was not advised why he was being fired. My friend believes he was fired because Mrs. Galloway wanted her husband to have the position. My friend further stated, that Mrs. Galloway runs the town………Karma!!

    -- Posted by JamesBond1972 on Mon, May 4, 2020, at 7:29 PM
  • Agree.....boo hoo galloways. Karma

    -- Posted by Keepyaguessin on Mon, May 4, 2020, at 8:29 PM
  • Doing payroll for tiny Cloverdale is a monster of a job, and it took Wayne 3 months' training to learn it? And now they want more money for training fees, travel and living expenses to learn a new system. Where does it all end?

    -- Posted by Ben Dover on Mon, May 4, 2020, at 9:02 PM
  • *

    If you've ever talked to Wayne you'd be surprised it only took him three months. I would've guessed about 3 years for him to learn just how to log on.

    -- Posted by RSOTS on Mon, May 4, 2020, at 9:37 PM
  • Very cruel comments from those who are NOT PERSONALLY FAMILIAR with each party involved, and base ALL of their views, and the facts of this fiasco upon what they read in the Banner and video feed of the meetings. It is much more involved. Everyone, especially the taxpayers, lose. In addition to the main players in this "Peyton Place", a great deal of "collateral damage" is being done to those caught in the middle. Again, the outcome will yield no winners,and the residents of the town of Cloverdale will be the primary losers.

    -- Posted by FactswithoutBS on Tue, May 5, 2020, at 8:33 PM
  • You shouldn't have to be personally familiar with anyone. That has nothing to do with what is going on. Watch the meetings live and you can hear both sides, when they all attend that is. Then form your opinions.

    -- Posted by Keepyaguessin on Thu, May 7, 2020, at 1:40 PM
  • Keepyaguessin: The meetings barely touch the surface of all that is going on. By being "PERSONALLY FAMILIAR WITH", and "FRIENDS WITH" all of the parties involved in this entire FIASCO, I do know that the issues run much deeper than the meetings bring out, and everyone involved, and every issue in contention has it's own backstory. It is to this aspect I was referring. The taxpayers, the ultimate losers, will never know more than that which is published in the Banner or is brought out in the video streaming from the town council meetings. As I alluded to, these only touch upon the surface of all that is going on.

    -- Posted by FactswithoutBS on Thu, May 7, 2020, at 8:53 PM
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