The nearly $90,000 annual salary paid to Westmoreland Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton could be used to finance costs for a court-appointed conservator for the office, county officials said Tuesday.
Controller Jeffrey Balzer said a policy approved in 2020 by commissioners allows the county to hold elected row officers liable for financial payouts to resolve legal actions related to their conduct. It’s a surcharge he said could offset the cost of the conservator for the Register of Wills Office, he said.
“I don’t know if it is applicable at this point. There is no bill yet. There is a lot more that needs to be established,” Balzer said.
Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. on Monday appointed Greensburg attorney Jim Antoniono to serve as conservator. The position gives the lawyer authority over all operations of the Register of Wills Office, where adoption records are processed and filed along with guardianships, wills and estates.
Commissioner Ted Kopas last week called on Hamilton to resign and for state lawmakers to begin proceedings to have her removed from office. Commissioner Sean Kertes on Tuesday joined the call for Hamilton to resign.
“This is getting absurd. One job we have here is do your job and go home. Stay out of nonsense, stay out of drama and problems, and you’ll be fine,” Kertes said. “This is the reason why the public has so much mistrust, disdain, hatred for elected officials, as they should.”
Hamilton was at work Tuesday and declined to comment on the continued calls for her resignation.
Attorney Sean Logue, whom Hamilton hired late last week as the new Register of Wills Office solicitor, said Hamilton has now met all requirements set by two court orders issued against her in 2022 and again in January.
“We are working on a report to update the court and the public. She is 100% caught up on adoptions and appeals, and we are generating a report we hope will satisfy any and all parties,” Logue said.
Hamilton, in a news release issued late Tuesday afternoon, echoed Logue’s comments.
“We are happy to report that with minor exceptions we are current on all Orphans’ Court processing as well as the transfer of records for appeals. I am especially proud of my staff for working so hard to dig us out of the post-covid staffing shortages hole,” Hamilton wrote.
Hamilton last week was found in contempt of court for violating court orders that required her office to meet specific deadlines and work requirements following allegations that the filing backlogs and the completion of daily chores were not being done in a timely manner.
As directed by the court, Antoniono will start work as conservator on May 28 and be paid $170 an hour. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
It remains to be determined how much time Antoniono will spend on the job. According to the judge’s order, Antoniono will determine his scope of work.
If he works full time during times the courthouse is open to the public, he could be paid more than $5,500 a week and in excess of $287,000 annually.
The policy that authorizes the county to tap into the salaries of elected officials came in response to a series of settlements commissioners approved to resolve discrimination, harassment and employment-related lawsuits filed against the Sheriff’s Office and Recorder of Deeds Office.
It has yet to be applied.
“I highly recommend you apply the surcharge when we get that first (conservator’s) bill,” Kopas said Tuesday.
Hamilton is scheduled to appear in court next month to be sentenced and could face a potential jail sentence and fines up to $5,000 for each of the three violations for which she was convicted. Smail ruled any fines assessed can be used to pay the conservator’s bill.
Conservator guidelines
According to the court order, when the conservator begins his work, Hamilton will have no authority over office operations. She will answer to the conservator and be considered an office employee, the judge ruled.
Hamilton’s salary, which she still is receiving, accounts for about 17% of all salaries budgeted for the Register of Wills Office in 2024. The office generates about $1.5 million a year in revenue through filing fees.
During testimony earlier this year, Hamilton blamed staffing shortages caused by the pandemic and insubordinate and disloyal employees for her office deficiencies and claimed she was a full-time presence at the courthouse. Staffers testified she was present in the office on a part-time basis, sometimes as little as nine hours a week.
