MONTICELLO, NY — Dr. Randy Parker, the commissioner of the Sullivan County Department of Family Services (DFS) who was put on administrative leave on January 29, is once again at the center of legal maneuvering and differences of opinion at the Sullivan County legislature.

County Manager Josh Potosek placed Parker on leave in a move that was supported by Sullivan County Legislature Chairman Scott Samuelson, who said the decision was related to the treatment of residents who applied for Home Emergency Assistance Program, or HEAP Funds. A large backlog of applications had developed.

This came about after Legislator Kathy LaBuda requested an investigation into the reported backlog of at least hundreds of applications. Questions about HEAP and the Supplemental Nutritional Aid Program (SNAP, aka food stamps) arose at the January county monthly meeting and were brought forward by Sandy Shaddock, the vice president and business agent for Teamsters Local 445.

Shaddock charged that Parker and others in the department had policies in place that deny HEAP and SNAP services to residents who need them and are qualified to receive them. She said this was done, “for the benefit of a select few people to make themselves look good, and that is disgusting.”

In the past however, Parker has received much praise from some legislators for significantly reducing the amount of “waste fraud and abuse” in the system. Parker is no stranger to legal tussles, and it doesn’t appear he’s going to go quietly if county lawmakers move to terminate his employment.

On January 30, Parker’s lawyer, Kirk Orseck, sent a letter to the county requesting that county personnel protect a number of documents that might be used in an employment hearing regarding Parker. The documents would include those related to “the 17 DFS positions requested by Parker; County Manager’s defunding of new hires at DFS; Sullivan County Legislature’s hiring freeze for DFS and other divisions from September through December 2014; historical reliance upon overtime to operate HEAP program due to County Manager’s and County Legislature’s policies, and the effect thereof...” and quite a bit of information about the county manager and his role in the HEAP situation.

In a previous incident, when some 40 complaints were filed against Parker, the lawyer representing him then said the complaints were brought by employees who were angered with Parker because his new policies potentially threatened the jobs of some employees and forced others to do more work. Because of efforts of Parker and the fraud investigative unit three staff members were fired.

Last summer, a majority of lawmakers blocked the use of up to $175,000 for an investigation of complaints “by and about” Parker. The county manager moved ahead with a $50,000 investigation and because of the amount spent did not need legislature approval to do so. Two legislators said the investigation cleared Parker, while others said it was inconclusive. The report did recommend some changes be made, and reportedly those changes have not yet been made.

In this current dustup, questions have been raised about whether the backlog in HEAP applications was the result of a deliberate slow-down or some other cause.

The full legislature may meet about the matter on February 5; the meeting will take place behind closed doors because it is a personnel issue. It seems likely that there will once again be differences of opinion over Parker, and the outcome is uncertain.