Before the recent county board meeting, seniors held protest signs and brought a signed petition, rallying against the restructure of AAOA. During the meeting, two resolutions were presented to the board. One; to create the new position for the Director of Aging Services; (AAOA) and two; to authorize reinstatement of Deputy Commissioner of Social Services position, of which both were voted against. (Photo by Kelli Miller)

NORWICH ― At the recent board meeting, resolutions were presented to create new positions relating to an ongoing issue involving Chenango County Area Agency on Aging that led to local officials firing the department head and attempting to reduce several positions.

The board hastily attempted to pass measures to make the changes in mid May, but the proposal failed. After the vote the board was told by New York State they also failed to follow proper open government laws before voting on the defunct proposal.

The most recent resolution involved the rearrangement of departments and staff to accommodate those proposed cuts and add more bureaucracy. One proposal wanted to authorize a new position of Deputy Commissioner of Social Services, at a cost of about $160,000.

The measures were rejected and the changes were tabled with the social services position sent back to finance for further review.

The intent is to restructure the Area Agency On Aging (AAOA) under the umbrella of the Department of Social Services that will be rebranded the Department of Health and Human Services.

The initial plan aimed to restructure the agency and eliminate nine positions. The former Agency Director Heather Collier was placed and leave and fired. Officials said the department was falling into mismanagement and would not disclose why she was terminate or clearly explain why cuts were needed.